


The Inugami

by LoneStorm



Series: The Inugami [1]
Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Action/Adventure, All that stuff, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Humor, Romance, Slow Burn, That Good Inukag Shit, more lighthearted than it sounds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-03 18:35:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 71,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12753873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoneStorm/pseuds/LoneStorm
Summary: When Kagome Higurashi moved to the bad side of Chicago to help with her grandfather’s restaurant, she expected chaos. Being thrown into a fake gang, caught in the middle of a drug war and grudge that stretches centuries back in time, befriending a grumpy half demon along with a ragtag bunch of three other misfits… wasn’t exactly what she had in mind. High school AU. Inukag.*In process of transferring from fanfiction.net





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello fantastical readers!
> 
> Started writing this in 2016, and just about finishing up on fanfiction.net. Transferring here--hope you enjoy! Trying to stay as true to the characters as possible.
> 
> The other part to this series is just a set of omakes--little shorts that take place throughout the story in different characters' POVs. On ff.net, I put them right in between the chapters where they were meant to be, but here I'll put them in a separate section and specify when the short takes place between the chapters.
> 
> Reviews and critiques are not only welcome, but make my day! A penny for your thoughts? Thank you for reading! 
> 
> Mizpah,  
> ~LoneStorm

For the eighty-second time that day, the thought crossed Kagome’s mind:  _ I want to go home. _

Chicago was supposed to be exciting, a fast-paced world where she’d assured herself that her life would finally begin. Now that they’d moved from their small town in Japan to the family restaurant in the United States--since Grandfather could no longer care for it on his own--she’d told herself that this would be an adventure! After all, she spoke fluent English and knew much of the slang due to watching American shows and English-dubbed anime for practice.

What she didn’t account for were the suffocating crowds, culture shock, and lack of friends. She knew she’d miss them, but making others in this drastically foreign atmosphere suddenly seemed so…  _ daunting _ .  

Especially when this school she now stood before looked like a prison and was covered in spray painted pictures she’d rather not describe.  

Swallowing with a grimace, she scolded herself for judging it based on appearance and hiked her bag higher up on her shoulder. It couldn’t be as bad as it looked; this was a place of learning.

Kagome didn’t want to admit to herself that the thought sounded ridiculous.

Inside, some kids were loud, others clearly terrified. They ran past, making Kagome tense, and lockers slammed up and down hallways as if people were running into them. It was utter chaos.  

A few days before, she’d received the schedule and made sure to locate each of her classes so that she’d be on time. The trouble was making it through armageddon.

Deciding the safest course of action was to avoid eye contact with everyone and focus on the route, she held her chin up and pushed the loudness out of her mind. Another right and a left should be her math class. The next hallway blockage spanned wall to wall, and she groaned in annoyance; she should really have searched for short cuts-

Her train of thought screeched to a halt when she heard the loud smacking and banging sound from the other side of the circle. Finally, Kagome registered that the crowd was chanting something in unison, louder by the second: “Fight, fight,  _ fight _ , FIGHT,  _ FIGHT- _ ”

Automatically, she shoved her way to the edge of the circle where her mouth dropped open; a pair of boys tussled on the ground, one growling and slamming his fist into the other boy’s face before the other snarled and slid out from under his opponent. He was about to send a fist back when she rushed in between them, shoved them apart, held up her hands, and shouted in a ringing voice across the hall, “ _ STOP IT! _ ”

The sight of someone hurting another, others around them laughing and doing nothing… it made her sick. Just how  _ wrong _ all this was… it was unbearable. Kagome didn’t know how they could all stand by and watch such victimization.

The corridor had instantly gone silent at her words, and both boys were too busy gaping at her to continue their little battle. One, clearly a youkai from his pointed ears, fangs, and tail, only stared with blue eyes, with his brown hair falling from a ponytail. A blue and gray headband wrapped around his forehead and the back of his head. The other… was probably also a youkai, with white hair tangled over his face, and his golden brown eyes narrowed. His leather jacket was a dark, striking red--the color of drying blood. Whereas the brunette one seemed shocked, the other seemed ready to fight her just as easily as if she were male. His triangular, white dog ears twitched and then laid flat against his head.

_ Way to go, Kagome,  _ she internally moaned.  _ First day and you’re about to get slaughtered by a demon. With… really adorable doggy ears.  _

At least she’d satisfied her own conscience. And her last sight would be puppy ears.  There were worse deaths.

“What the  _ fuck _ ,” hissed the dog one, “do you think you’re  _ doing _ , bitch?”

She couldn’t help but turn her nose up to him. “Considering how you seem to be part puppy, I’m going to assume that in that context, you only meant to call me ‘woman’.”

Kagome felt heat flood her face when the surrounding students, including the other demon boy, all laughed and the puppy boy sputtered. Smearing blood away from under his nose with a knuckle-split fist, the dog one advanced on her. “This is none of your business, new girl. You’re gonna back off, walk away, and stay away, before you  _ really _ make me angry.”

A bolt of fear rattled through her; she’d never personally spoken to a youkai before.  Demons were uncommon in her old town, though they weren’t discriminated against. His darker aura, however, was freaking her out.

But then she hardened.  _ He’s just another idiot. His heritage makes no difference.  _  Kagome stood her ground and held up a hand again so that it came in contact with his chest, holding him off. “Who do you think you are, threatening me? You’re the one that’s going to step away and get to class instead of brawling around like barbarians that are too stupid to solve problems with words!”

“Wh-why you-” he stammered, eyes wide and apparently too surprised to be able to continue.  

Giving a last huff in his direction, she turned to the wolfish boy and said, “You get to class, before this starts up again and I call a teacher.”

Slowly, a smirk stretched across his face. “As the lady wishes.” He shot a last sneer at the boy he’d been fighting. “Next time I’ll pound you into the dirt, mutt!”

“Oh, you’re not getting away, you coward-” growled the dog youkai, but the other had already disappeared through the dispersing crowd.

And then she was left with the boy with the puppy ears, one hand still planted on his chest.  That she now realized was rather muscled. She quickly drew her hand back as if burned, holding it to her heart and shifting awkwardly. “Uh… hi. Um. I’ll just… go now.”

Before he could respond, she turned and nearly smashed straight into another girl’s front.  

The pretty, brown-haired girl was taller than Kagome, dressed in a pink shirt with black and pink yoga pants. Instead of hostile as the rest of the people Kagome had so far encountered, the girl was giving a positively radiant smile. “That was  _ amazing _ ,” said the girl with a laugh. “I’ve never seen anyone other than us and the Wolves try to come between those two morons! Hi, I’m Sango. You the new senior?”

Kagome blinked several times. “Uh, yeah. Hi. Thanks. Um, I’m Kagome…”

She then realized that ‘us’ referred to the boy that came out from behind Sango with a winning grin. He was admittedly rather attractive, black hair tied back in a small ponytail, purple shirt and blue jeans. His dark blue eyes were intense, and at the moment, rather playful. “Hello, miss. I’m Miroku; pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Kagome squeaked when he stepped closer than she was comfortable with. “You are clearly brave. Those genes must be passed on. Will you bear my children- OW!”  

Sango had smacked him in the head and pushed him away, apologizing, “Sorry about him.  That’s, em, how he greets women. I promise, he’s not always one-hundred percent a creep.  Sometimes he’s like, ninety-five percent, on a lucky day.”

“U-uh… it’s fine…”

“Inuyasha,” Sango said, looking over Kagome’s shoulder. “I think you owe her an apology!”

Kagome realized they were talking to the dog boy, who was raking his hair back into a straighter style down his back. They were  _ friends _ with this guy?!

Inuyasha only glared. “Keh. Yeah, not happening. I was about to destroy that asshole once and for all and she just  _ had _ to butt in!”

Ignoring his rude stubbornness, Kagome asked Sango, “So, Wolves?  Are they, like… a gang?”

Sango nodded. “Yeah, that guy, Koga, is their leader. Their territory is around this area, unless they lose it to Naraku’s gang. Koga and Inuyasha… well they never really got along. But they both hate Naraku, so at least they can man-bond about that.”

“Is he part of a different gang?” She jerked her thumb behind her to indicate the dog boy.

Sango snorted. “Gang of three, maybe. He, Miroku, and I… well, we look out for each other. Not a gang, really. Just trying not to, you know, die.”

Miroku shot a warning glance to Inuyasha, who was scowling. “You’re lucky Koga has too much pride to make all the Wolves beat the crap out of you at once.”

“Keh. I could take ‘em, no sweat.”

“Sure,” snorted Kagome. “Says the guy that barely held his own with one of them.”

“I was just warming up, bitch!”

“Stop calling me that!  And anyway, your jaw and eye look pretty bruised up…” Kagome reached into the side pockets of her bag, pulling out her bottle filled with ice-water. She then drew out some kleenexes, with which she dabbed away the blood on his face lightly while putting the cold bottle against the bruising.  

Kagome began to feel awkward again as they all just stared at her uncomprehendingly.  

Jerking out of his bewilderment, Inuyasha quickly shoved her hands away, face nearly scarlet. “What are you doing, woman?”

She narrowed her eyes, tossing the used tissue into the nearest trashcan and crossing her arms. “Well, excuse me for trying to help. What, you just expect me to walk away when you’re all beaten up?”

“Um.  _ YEAH _ .”

“If you wanted me to be a jerk, you could’ve just said so,” she snapped, putting away her water bottle. “Fine. I’m going to class. Have fun with your black eye and attitude problems, puppy boy.”

The last thing she heard from them was Miroku’s laughter and Sango scolding Inuyasha for being an ass.

 

* * *

 

“Do you need a place to sit? You could come at our table.”

The heaven-sent question came in the end of the period before lunch, from the strikingly beautiful girl that had just sat next to her throughout her language class. This Kikyo had made her feel comfortable, unlike many of her other classes. Kagome was lucky enough to have Miroku and Sango give her a smile and offer her a seat in two classes, but in two others, she knew no one other than Kikyo, now. 

Kagome wasn’t used to talking to obviously popular girls like Kikyo; her midnight-colored hair trailed down her back, elegantly straight, and she looked to be Japanese as well. Her face was sculpted to smooth perfection, eyes dark and haunting. Her casual, black dress was classy, flats cute and a mysterious, black and purple bandana was tied about her pale, thin wrist. The spider-shaped pendant on her neck was a bit creepy, but she was certainly nice enough, so Kagome instantly answered, “That would be awesome! Thank you.”

Kikyo only smiled and led the way from the classroom. Luckily, Kagome had brought her own lunch so that she didn’t have to brave the line of shoving and cursing students scrambling for food. Their table was welcoming enough. She was already used to people here eyeing her up and down as if determining if she was a threat, which she brushed off as a consequence of living in the bad part of town. But after they did so, they offered smiles of their own and waved her into a seat.

For the most part, Kagome kept to herself and listened to the conversations from the other girls. Kikyo didn’t say much, but Kagome soon found herself growing uncomfortable with…

“There was  _ another _ fight in the hall today,” scoffed the girl to her right, twirling a spoon in her yogurt. “A youkai and the hanyo again.”

“At least Koga knows when to back off. The half-breed is just a freak in every way so far.”

Kagome frowned.  

“Yeah, Inuyasha is lucky that he’s not dead yet, not that he’d be missed-”

“That’s not nice.”

Kagome was really getting sick of the shocked stares.  

“What?” the girl asked.

“I said that’s not nice,” muttered Kagome.“You shouldn’t say that about someone.”

Making a sour face, the girl that had spoken snapped, “Well, if you don’t like it, new girl, you don’t have to be here.”

Internally, she winced. At this rate, she’d have no friends be that one girl that eats lunch in the bathroom.

Externally, she tilted up her chin and stood. “You’re absolutely right.”

Carrying her lunch bag close to her chest, she marched across the cafeteria. She tried to ignore the eyes following her and mutterings. She was making enemies left and right. She’d put up a brave face for a while, but now her hands were shaking with the stress of just how new everything was, how she was alone, and how all she wanted to do was get back to Japan where her friends laughed about silly things like boys and anime and-

A rough hand settled on her shoulder, and she jumped with a strangled shriek.  

“Calm down, spaz,” snarled a familiar voice, and at her side she saw Inuyasha, golden eyes flashing.

This only made her heart accelerate; what did he want? Was he going to retaliate for her interruption earlier? He was certainly at least fifty times stronger than her, so fighting back was impossible. Maybe she could distract him and then run?

“Will you cut that out?” he hissed as they exited the cafeteria toward wherever he was leading. “Fear smells gross. I’m not gonna  _ hurt _ you, stupid.”

“O-oh,” was her only response, gulping thickly. This boy could smell fear? Kagome didn’t think his dog traits could go that far. “Um, where are we-?”

The sound of harsh laughter cut her off, followed by the slam of a body into a locker and someone gasping with pain. She and Inuyasha spun to the hallway they’d been about to pass by, to see a pair of boys holding a smaller one up to a locker by his shirt. The boy was even smaller than Kagome, red hair and tail poofy and up on end displaying youkai origins.

Inuyasha grumbled. “Doesn’t take ‘em long, does it?” He looked away to keep walking.

“Hey!” Kagome grabbed his arm and tugged. “We have to go help him!”

“Why should I? The kid can learn to fight for himself. None of my business.”

With a scowl, she shoved his arm back at him. “Fine, then. Be a jerk. I’ll go help him myself.”

The dog boy only scoffed. “You don’t stand a chance. Those two are demons in Naraku’s gang, the Thunder Brothers. They’ll snap your pathetic little body like a twig. You can’t go over there.”

“ _ Watch me _ .”

His eyes widened and he reached out just as she stormed away. Marching right up to the pair of laughing boys, she said loudly, “Let him go!”

The victim’s terrified yet angry gaze turned to her in surprise, and the two did stop, raising eyebrows at her. One had a dark braid down his back, and would have been attractive if he weren’t an asshole. The other was reptilian in form, with a head like a white snake. The one with hair smirked. “Why should we? You gonna stop us?”

“I-if I have to,” she said, the ‘I’m screwed’ alarm bells again ringing in her mind. Kagome clenched her fists by her sides. Perhaps she’d have time to reach in her bag to use one of her textbooks as a weapon-

“Now that’s something I’d like to see.” They dropped their prey, and the boy with the braid began to step towards her. “I like a little action in a woman before I-”

A clawed fist slammed into demon’s face, cutting off his speech and sending him crashing into the lockers. Inuyasha was there, holding a hand to the Thunder Brother’s throat and growling,  “Why don’t you pick on someone your own species?”

“Inuyasha,” she breathed in relief, rubbing away the anxiety in her chest.  

“Take the kid, the hallway where we were, a right, and a left,” he responded, fending off the second brother with an elbow to his face. “You’re gettin’ in my way!”

Kagome detested the idea of him fighting more, but this time he was defending the poor freshman boy, and so she nodded. “Come on!”

The little demon was all too happy to race after her, taking Inuyasha’s directions until they made it to a door labeled “Roof”. At this point, she turned and offered a quick smile. “Hi! I’m Kagome. Stay until I come back -- I’ve got a dog demon to drag here.”

“Thank you for saving me,” the boy said, big eyes shining. “I’m Shippo!”

“Nice to meet you, Shippo!” she called over her shoulder as she ran back to the scene.  Inuyasha had knocked the reptilian one unconscious already; he was now fighting the other in rapid hand-to-hand combat, facing her direction but too focused to see her. Unsure of what else to do, Kagome drew the heaviest book she had out of her bag, tiptoed up to the enemy demon, and smacked him with all her strength in the back of the head.

To her dismay, it only made him stumble, likely mostly in surprise as he whipped around to see her. However, this gave Inuyasha the chance to kick him in the head, after which the Thunder Brother finally dropped like a rock.

There was a heavy silence filled with a few pants. Finally, their eyes met, his blazing and hers hesitant. Finally, he just shook his head. “You… you’re crazy. Why the hell would you run into that? And why in the name of all things holy would you come back?! I can’t believe you thought a textbook would take out a demon!”

“What kind of question is that?” she protested as he grabbed her arm and tugged her off towards Shippo. “I can’t just walk away from someone that’s going to get hurt, or let you get all beat up! And I didn’t exactly have any other weapon!”

“Keh. Pathetic human sentiment.” His swift footsteps were followed by the clumsy clatter of her sneaker-encased feet. “No way those losers could put a scratch on me. You’re gonna get yourself killed around here. You’re living in West Englewood and anyone who doesn’t have a gun or at least a switchblade is a moron.”

“Isn’t that illegal?” Kagome whispered, eyes wide.

He rolled his eyes so obnoxiously that the whole hall probably spun. “ _ Isn’t that illegal? _ ” he mimicked in a ridiculous, slurry, high voice. “What are you, five? Of course it’s fucking illegal. Bad guys don’t give a shit about what’s illegal, stupid. Bad guys get illegal guns. If you’re gonna protect yourself from a bad guy, you’ll need something too.”

“Well, I seemed to have you,” she said testily, shooting a glare. “My name is not stupid. It’s Kagome. Ka-go-me. Just because it’s Japanese doesn’t mean it’s hard to pronounce.”

“I’m not your guard dog, and I can  _ speak _ Japanese, dammit,” he muttered, pulling her to the left. “Now stop being difficult and get to the safe spot so that I don’t have to keep dealing with your ass. In fact, that pervy monk would probably love to deal with it himself.”

“What?” she squeaked, not even realizing that they’d bumped back into Shippo and Inuyasha was pushing the creaky door open to a set of metal stairs. They were herded up there impatiently, where they came upon a gray sky and chilly breeze. Buildings rose above the horizon in the distance like demons leering down at her, while broken-down apartment complexes, cracked and dull houses, and stores with barred windows depressingly scattered the concrete and asphalt ground.  

However, she felt intense relief when she saw the other students from before, Sango and Miroku. They gave bewildered looks, but smiled and waved at them all the same. With a tentative smile, Kagome approached with Shippo at her side. She looked over her shoulder to see that Inuyasha had wandered off towards the other side of the roof, sitting cross-legged on the edge and staring off into the gray skyline. She frowned, but continued and sat by the others.

“Good to see you again, Kagome,” Miroku greeted. “How did you come across our little hiding place?”

Kagome blinked. “W-wha… You didn't tell Inuyasha to invite me?”

They appeared scandalized. Sango said, “You're definitely welcome, and we didn't ask you because we saw you had a seat. No, we didn't ask him. He really brought you here?  With…?” They were eyeing Shippo.

Kagome stammered with a laugh, “Oh, I’m being rude! This is Shippo; we just met in the hall when Inuyasha saved him from the Thunder Brothers. Shippo, this is Sango and Miroku.”

“Hi!” Shippo said cheerfully. “Thanks again, for that. You saved me too! I could take ‘em, but… em… it would’ve taken a while…”

Kagome brushed off his lie with a smile, and then turned back to the other two. After having welcomed Shippo warmly, they were staring uncomprehendingly in Inuyasha’s direction.  “Is Inuyasha... ill?” Miroku questioned, looking genuinely concerned.

“I can  _ hear _ you,” said boy warned from afar.

Sango brushed this off.  “He’s never done something like that. Did you poison him or something? It’s almost like… he was  _ nice _ .”

“Don’t make me come over there and rip out your intestines!”

Kagome decided to be deaf to Inuyasha’s voice. “You say that as if he’s not your friend.”

Miroku shrugged. “He insists that he is not. We three simply protect each other and sit here for lunch; we’re not really friends with him, per say.”

“Like I’d be friends with you human twerps,” Inuyasha’s spoke up again, never moving from his spot.

“You’re half human yourself,” Sango reminded him, eyes narrowing. Inuyasha only scoffed in response.

“Half? Oh, that’s why they called him hanyo. That’s interesting,” Kagome said conversationally.

“Indeed,” Miroku agreed. “It makes him as violent as a demon and as stubborn as a human.”

“I will rip off your arms, monk.”

She was quickly learning that Inuyasha was full of creative and empty threats.

Taking out her bento box and shifting into a more comfortable position on the cold concrete, she continued, “Why does he call you ‘monk’?”

Miroku waved a hand. “I was raised by Buddhist monks. I don’t plan to be one, but I am plenty religious.”

“Except for when you’re grabbing a girl’s butt,” Sango muttered, taking an aggressive bite from her sandwich.

Kagome scooted a bit farther away from him. “So… why are you guys on the roof, exactly?”

“Avoiding gangs,” Sango said through a full mouth. “Here, you’re either a Spider or a Wolf.  You’ve seen the bandanas? The colors coordinate with a certain gang. Spiders have black and purple, while the Wolves are blue and gray.”

Kagome had indeed noticed the pattern of bandanas, wrapped around hair, ankles, wrists, belts, like Kikyo. 

“We wanna stay neutral,” Sango went on, “but that gets you a lot of harassment. It’s not as bad here as it is in the movies or on the news--other than Inuyasha, who has a history with Koga, we are not his enemies and he doesn’t try to hurt anyone at school out of temper… but still, better to keep it just us and up here in about the freshest air we can get.”

“Even those girls I was sitting with? They didn’t seem like gang members.”

“Those were all Spiders,” Miroku said darkly. “Naraku’s group. We planned to warn you of the situation later.”

“Well, some of them certainly were rude,” Kagome muttered. “Kikyo seemed nice enough, though.”

Miroku choked a laugh, almost spitting out the water he’d been trying to drink. “That girl… Ahaha, better keep your distance with that one,” he advised.

Kagome jumped and nearly spilled her rice when Inuyasha appeared, hopping down into a crouch beside her. The other two gave him smirks, though she’d expected them to be more surprised. Shippo seemed to agree, frowning in confusion at the half-demon.

“Don’t be talkin’ shit about people you don’t know,” Inuyasha snarled, clenching clawed hands.

Miroku only continued to look smug. “So predictable. Gracing us with your presence as soon as your lady love is brought up-”

Sensing how Inuyasha was about to pounce, Kagome threw out an arm to stop him. Her eyes trailed to his, and she could help a smile and a small giggle. “You have a crush on Kikyo? I would not have expected that-”

“I-I do not!” he barked, curling up into his crouch. “I-I just… It’s not her fault! He’s holding something against her! I know her and I know she wouldn’t be a Spider or be Naraku’s woman if he wasn’t holding something over her head!”

“You have a crush on the  _ gang leader’s girlfriend _ ,” Kagome said, voice flat. Of course, it did make a little sense. If the boy was going to admire anyone, it would be a graceful beauty like Kikyo. He probably had that admiration among many other boys.

“I told you I didn’t, bitch!”

“Speak in kinder words to a lady, Inuyasha,” Miroku scolded, and then ignored Inuyasha’s colorful answer. “He’s not over her; they dated sophomore year. Then she moved away for junior, and when she came back this last summer, she was a Spider and Naraku’s woman.”

“Bullshit,” Inuyasha muttered, the color of his face matching his bright, leather jacket, “That’s over. But I can save her.”

Sango sighed in exasperation. “She’s avoided you for over a year. Good luck with being her knight in bloody armor.”

“I still can’t believe how someone was actually willing to date Inuyasha,” Shippo said innocently. Kagome couldn’t help but agree.

Shippo instantly got a fist in the head. “Shut up, you little pansy.”

Kagome slapped Inuyasha’s hand away from the poor freshman. “Leave him alone. I’m honestly surprised that you’d have feelings for someone too. Especially with a ‘human twerp’.”

“Aw, he’s a total softie, deep down,” Miroku cooed.

“Miroku, you are so full of shit and I’ll beat you into the ass you came out of-”

“At least, I pray that he is truly a softie every day so that I can be granted patience to deal with him.” Miroku looked back to Kagome, unfazed. “He’s right, though. We all know what he’s holding over her. Just like what he’s holding over the rest of his damn gang.”

When Kagome tilted her head, Sango explained in a grimace, “Drugs. He has a special recipe that he's been working on probably his whole half-demon life, mixed with demon energies--calls it Shikon, or Shikon Jewel. It’s said to get you higher for longer, give you a boost in strength and speed, and dead a lot quicker. So, of course, it’s all over the streets. He only gives it to gang members, with a price. Super addictive. He lures people into his creepy web by offering a little bit to people he wants in. They can’t stop after only one fix.”

“We ought to warn you,” Miroku cut in darkly. “The drug can be ingested many ways.  Don’t accept food or drink from anyone, or from a table. If you see something being smoked, stay far away. If you see a pink, gem-like object, that’s its form before they crush it into powder. Either stay away or take it and destroy it.”

“Or you’ll get just as stuck in the web,” Sango finished.

“That’s terrible,” Kagome whispered. “Thank you for telling me. So… Kikyo got addicted?”

“She’s not a stoner!” Inuyasha shouted.

“I never said she was. He clearly tricks people. She’s a victim, if anything,” Kagome reasoned in her calmest voice.

“Well, she did,” Sango sighed. “All the Spiders are. And the withdrawal will kill you without medical assistance, and they can’t get that without getting arrested, so he controls all of them. He’s a disgusting person.”

“Sounds like it.”

“Well.” Miroku stretched, arms and face towards the sky. “We tend side mostly with the Wolves when necessary. We all have rather… personal, vendettas against Naraku. So does Koga. The Wolves are brutal and far too violent, but at least they’ve sworn against drugs. They say any kind of drug messes with their senses, but they don’t protect anyone other than their own from Naraku’s addictive wrath, so they’re not particularly nice either.”

Kagome put down her bento box; the whole horrifying conversation had rather ruined her appetite. “Can’t we tell the police?”

“Oh, they know.” Inuyasha scowled, which wasn’t much of a change from his normal expression. “Bastards. They can’t figure out where the drop off and distribution spots are, much less the drug lab. Some of them are probably paid off, or addicted themselves.”

“The police try hard,” Sango defended. “They’ve followed known members, done harsh questioning… but Naraku is very clever. Inuyasha just doesn’t like the police for… personal reasons.”

Inuyasha didn’t elaborate on these ‘personal reasons’. “Whatever. They can’t save Kikyo like I can, anyway.”

The group fell silent, and Kagome wondered if they were all thinking the same thing.

_ You can’t save her without her getting arrested and put into a psych ward for rehabilitation. _

Clearing her throat, Kagome put on a pleasant voice, trying to change the depressing subject. “So, em, you said you speak Japanese, Inuyasha. How did you learn?”

“Oh, that’s right.” Sango gave her a smile. “I wanted to ask about your accent. Are you from Japan, then?”

“Yes.” Kagome nodded. “My family just moved here to help with my grandfather’s business. He’s getting quite old, you see. Luckily, I can speak English well enough.”

“Your English is impeccable,” Miroku complimented. “We are glad to have you here.  Strangely enough, dear Sango and I are of Japanese origin. We both speak a bit. And he… honestly, I didn’t know you spoke Japanese, Inuyasha.”  

Everyone looked to him, and he grimaced, muttering, “I only lived there most of my life.”

“Seriously?” Miroku laughed, shaking his head. “You are a true mystery, my friend.”

“I’m not your friend.”

This rolled off of the monk’s back, as always. It was Sango that went on. “Well, demons have extremely long life spans, even a half demon. I’ve never quite had the courage to ask, but… how old  _ are _ you? You might’ve lived there for quite a long time, right?”

Kagome thought he’d simply scoff and refuse to answer more personal questions, but his ‘older than you’ pride apparently won out. “I’m a few hundred.”

Simultaneously, everyone choked on air. “Few hundred?!” Kagome gasped. “How many is a few?!”

“Wouldn't you like to know?” he said smugly.

Miroku seemed to have recovered. “In any case, demons age much slower, as far as mental maturity and body. At this point, he’s just as mature as us. In human mental and physical years, Inuyasha is about eighteen. Or, at least, that’s what his license says.”

She could certainly believe the part about how his mental age was no higher than theirs. If not much, much lower.

“What’ve you been doing, going through my wallet?!”

“If you’re a few hundred,” Kagome wondered. “Why are you suddenly in high school?  Here and now?”

Inuyasha shifted to his cross-legged sit. “I was bored. Lots of demons decide to get an education whenever the hell they want and travel wherever the hell they want. School turned out to be pretty boring too, other than the fistfights in the hall that  _ some _ people like to go mess up for me.”

“Let it go already,” groaned Kagome. “It was dangerous and ridiculous.”

“Your  _ face _ is ridiculous!”

“ _ What are you? _ ” Kagome mimicked in a deep, whiny voice. “ _ Five? _ ”

Kagome felt a spark of triumph when Inuyasha was rendered speechless and the other three burst out laughing.


	2. Chapter 2

“Hey there, gorgeous.”

As her locker shut, Kagome jumped when she was confronted with a grinning Koga. His arm was propped up against the locker in front of her, and he was leaning down to meet her eyes.

“U-uh,” she stammered, backing up slightly. “Are you…” She glanced behind her. No girls were there.  “...talking to me?”

His laugh was like like a howl. “You bet I am. Who else could ‘gorgeous’ refer to in the world?”

Taking another step back, she laughed nervously and felt heat rising into her cheeks. It had been a week since she’d broken up the fight between him and Inuyasha, and Koga had greeted her in halls and class ever since. But this was the first time he’d sought her out to talk outside of class.

It was also the first person to ever compliment her this way. While she wasn’t one to fall for flattery, she couldn’t help but flush at his words and with anxiety. Koga really wasn’t so bad, and very attractive, so she didn’t really know how to tell him she wasn’t interested. Still...

A sweet boy back in Japan, Hojo, had harbored a crush on her and asked her out several times, but he’d never tried to call her beautiful in any way. Perhaps this was an American thing?  A demon thing? Or maybe… just a Koga thing.

“Em, thank you,” she managed. “Good morning, Koga-kun. A-ah, I mean-!”

He was chuckling at her slip up with the honorific. “Good morning, Kagome.” Her eyes widened when he took her hands in his. “It’s only good because I got to see your pretty face first thing.” Before she could attempt at a response, his eyes flicked over her face hungrily. “What a lovely Wolf you’ll make…”

_ Oh crap. _ “O-oh, em, I’m not really… intending to, um, join a…”

“You’ll have to choose sooner or later,” Koga warned, leaning carelessly up against the lockers. He didn’t let go of her hands, and hers were starting to get sweaty. “And you certainly have too much class to become one of those pathetic stoner Spiders.”

“No, I don’t want to join them,” she assured him. “But I’d much rather focus on my studies and helping out my grandfather than get involved in any… street activity. I prefer to remain neutral.”

Kagome began to squirm nervously when Wolves and Spiders alike slowed in the hallway to stop and watch the exchange. She could practically hear the buzzing in their minds: _What does she mean ‘neutral’?_ _Will the new girl finally pick which to join? Has Naraku also tried to recruit her?_ The whole hallway was soon crowded with intent listeners; they didn’t seem to bother Koga, but they sure perturbed her.  

“Neutral?” he echoed, sounding amused. “Like that demon-slayer family girl and monk boy? Like the  _ mutt? _ ”

“H-he’s not…”

“Those three can defend themselves well enough, sweetheart, but you’re a gentle creature,” Koga purred. “I admire your wit and bravery. But you need a man to protect you--a pack.”

“I, ah…” She wanted to disagree, say that her little group of five could hold their own just fine, but her throat seemed to close at all the attention directed at her.

“Alas, I figured you may not be willing to make a commitment yet, so I brought you this.”

From underneath his shirt, Koga lifted a blue cord of leather over his head and gently placed it around hers. It held a silver, metal pendant--a minimalist face of a wolf.

Surprised and grateful that he wasn’t pressuring her further, she touched it lightly and said, “Oh… it’s beautiful. Thank you.”

“It pales in comparison to you,” he rattled off. “It is our symbol. Anyone who sees it will know you’re under my protection.”

“Like HELL,” a voice shouted nearby.

Kagome spun to see Inuyasha, in his same red, leather jacket, pushing through the crowd with a murderous expression. He instantly slapped Koga’s hands away from hers and tugged her towards himself by the shoulder. “She’s not interested in your damn protection!”

“Oh?” Koga snarled. “How about you let the lady speak for herself? She accepted my gift and protection; she’ll get hurt without some sort of alliance. She doesn’t have enough protection around here!”

“She’s got  _ ME! _ ”

Kagome widened her eyes at him. For someone who insisted he wasn’t her guard dog, he was certainly playing the part well. But with a sigh, she resumed a similar position to last week, holding up her hands between the two boys. “That’s enough. It’s fine, Inuyasha. He wasn’t hurting me. It’s a necklace, not a tattoo. He was trying to be nice. And Koga, Inuyasha isn’t trying to insult you-”

“I  _ so _ am-”

“SO!” Kagome tried to overpower his voice. “No one is causing harm! Let’s just all go to class. Thank you both for the sentiment and-”

“That necklace is going to get her killed,” hissed Inuyasha, bypassing Kagome and stepping up to Koga so that they were staring each other down. Kagome backed up slightly; they truly did look like two predators that were locking gazes with a challenge. “The Spiders will see it and instantly go after her. And I’ll have to come in and save her sorry ass again. I’ve got better stuff to do.”

“No one said you  _ have _ to come and save me!” Kagome said hotly, hands on her hips. Her eye began to twitch. “If it’s so much  _ trouble _ for you, then just let me get beat up!”

Inuyasha flicked a glare at her, and then turned back to Koga. The hallway was even more crowded now, and Miroku, Sango, and Shippo finally appeared. Sango put an arm around her and gently led her backwards, out of blast radius.

“Look, you better not bother her about being a damn Wolf. She’s not interested, so stop pressuring her, and if you touch her again, I’ll rip the damn smirk off your face,” Inuyasha said in a low voice.

“Well saying  _ that _ was a terrible idea,” Miroku muttered lightly. “Not that I disagree.”

“Please don’t fight!” Kagome called out, hoping at least Koga would honor her request. To her relief, he did, looking at her quickly and then lowering the fist he’d begun to raise.  

What she was more surprised about, however, was how Inuyasha also relaxed his tensed shoulders, looking to her with his ears flattened.  

There were a few weighted moments of stillness in the hall before Koga finally said, “My woman wants us to talk it out like men. So-”

“Your woman?” Kagome stammered, then said more forcefully, “I’m not your woman!”

“She’s not your woman!” Inuyasha echoed.  “She doesn’t  _ belong _ to anyone!” 

“You’re delusional, mutt! Look, Naraku won’t take her seriously if she’s not backed up by colors! He’ll know not to force Shikon if she’s a Wolf!”

“Fine!” Inuyasha said in a scathing tone. “She needs to be in a gang? From now on, she’s in mine!”

Murmurs erupted in the hall, and Sango’s hand on her shoulder tightened. “What is he doing?” Sango muttered.

Koga’s dark eyebrows went up. “You don’t  _ have _ a gang, dog shit.”

“I do now.”

“Oh?  Just making one up now?” laughed the Wolf leader. “Of two members?”

“I’ve got Miroku, Sango, that fox runt, and this woman!”  He gestured loosely to Kagome.

“Since when?” Shippo muttered.

Letting out another laugh, Koga shifted his weight, a superior expression showing that he was humoring Inuyasha. “Yeah? What’s your name? Leader? Colors? Territory?”

Inuyasha’s fingers began to tap against his legs, and Kagome felt a spark of sympathy for him. He’d only been trying to help, make sure they were all protected best he could. Kagome had only known him a week, but she knew it was rare that he showed this much care in anything.  

As if reading her mind, Miroku stepped up and put a supportive hand on Inuyasha’s shoulder.  “We’re the Inugami,” Miroku supplied smoothly. “Inuyasha is the leader, of course. Our color is clearly red and white, and our territory is no threat to yours. Satisfied?”

“Sounds interesting,” Koga mused. “A gang of five people. Gang. Knitting club. Whichever you’d rather use.”

Inuyasha had stopped his nervous fidgeting and tilted up his chin. “So all of you!” he called out harshly to the remaining crowd, “Make sure Naraku knows that there’s a new gang in town and he’d better stay the fuck out of our way!”

There were shouts and curses shout back at him from Spiders scattered among the students, but the crowd soon dispersed at the warning bell for lunch period.

“C’mon,” Inuyasha muttered, gesturing stiffly for them to head towards their haven on the roof. He strode ahead, and the others hurried behind him until they burst out. It was rather sunny today, not matching the thunderstorm following over Inuyasha’s head.

“What did you just do?!” Sango cried as soon as they shut the trapdoor. “Making this gang won’t make us safer; it’s drawing attention to us! You practically threatened Naraku--do you have a death wish?”

“It’s about time that bastard got lured into someone else’s web,” he shot back, coming to a halt, planting his feet, and crossing his arms. “I’m done waiting around to throttle him. This gets Koga off my back and Naraku seeing me as the threat I am, all at once. After Naraku is defeated, this will be disbanded. I know you all want to see him behind bars almost as much as I do!”

“What do you mean ‘almost’?” Miroku yelled, balling his fists. “He killed _ my parents too! _ ”

The sentence hung in air like rain paused mid-drop. Kagome felt awkwardness and horror seeping through her. Both of their parents... murdered by this man?

“Took my brother,” Sango muttered.

Shippo was quiet for a moment, before he said quietly, “My dad, too.”

Kagome twisted her hands together, looking down at her feet and feeling as if she should back away and not intrude on their rage and sorrow. She felt for them, as her own father was dead, but not by any hand other than a drunk driver.

Sango turned to her, and finally gave a shaky smile. “Sorry, Kagome. This must be making you uncomfortable. You don’t have to join anything; he added you so that Koga wouldn’t bother you.”

“N-no, it’s okay.” She cleared her throat, still examining her shoes. “I don’t know this man, but he’s hurting people, and I’d like to help in any way I can.”

“Don’t freak out, spaz,” Inuyasha said in her direction. “I won’t let this get you hurt.”

At him, she raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Since when do you care?”

“I don’t. These three would annoy me if I let anything happen to you.”

Kagome sighed. “Right! I forgot; the only person you give a crap about other than yourself is Kikyo. My mistake.”

Inuyasha’s face seemed to turn several colors at once, again speechless, but more likely because it wouldn’t look ‘tough’ if he denied it. Or, in Kagome’s honest opinion, because it was true.

“Does Obamacare cover that burn?” Miroku questioned lightly.  
“Shut up,” was all Inuyasha muttered, turning away from them. “I care about throwing Naraku into hell. Nothing else matters.”

 

* * *

 

Kagome was grateful for the lack of crowds as she trekked back home from school. She was a few hours later than usual, due to how she had no shift at the restaurant and a test to study for in the library. The twilight cast a red glow across the cracked pavement, and she spun along so that the skirt of her blue dress twirled. She began humming to herself as she avoided the cracks to entertain herself, then played with the red and white bandana Inuyasha had loosely tied around her wrist three weeks ago. 

So far, it hadn’t really solved any problems, but he got upset if she ever tried to take it off, just like Koga would get grumpy if she’d remove the necklace. But since she was close to home, she untied the bandana and shoved it in her bag; she didn’t want to forget to take it off and end up giving her mother a false indication that she was involved in gang activity.

“ _ We’re only in this to take out Naraku _ ,” Inuyasha had told her while tucking in the ends of the cloth on her wrists. “ _ We ain’t gonna get involved in any stupid gang wars; those pathetic kids have no idea what war really is, or what’s worth fighting for. Stay away from the Wolves, you hear? Spiders will attack anyone with that symbol. They’re probably still unsure about the strengths of the Inugami, so when they see the red, they won’t bother you. Yet. But they’d bother you more if you had nothing at all. And don’t be out past dark. _ ”

Kagome paused when she remembered his words, turning to look at the sunset. Well, technically, it wasn’t dark yet… but she’d better hurry to get home.

When hands shot out and grabbed her around the middle and mouth, Kagome figured she shouldn’t have jinxed it.

She screamed helplessly into the rough hand and kicked, but there seemed to be more than one, and whatever she did only made them laugh. Squinting her eyes open, she saw the hazy shapes of at least four, tall forms shrouded in shadow. The hands on her body hurt, and would surely bruise. Her heart jumped all over in her chest; she’d never felt so helpless. Her whole body was being restrained, and a deep voice whispered in her ear from the dark coolness of the alley, “Oho, pretty Wolf symbol you’ve got there. A little lone Wolf… Necklace probably means she’s Koga’s woman! Perfect way to get back at that bastard for last week…”

Kagome tried to shout that she wasn’t a Wolf, she had no money, she wasn’t his  _ damn woman _ , but when hands crept towards the end of her skirt, she realized money might not be what they have in mind. 

_ Please, God no. Please, please, make them go away- _

From above, a red-jacket clad angel dropped feet first on top of the man holding her, sending the others scampering back in shock. Her assailant was knocked out immediately, and Inuyasha grabbed Kagome lightly by the shoulders when she stumbled.

“You okay, Kagome?” he murmured, golden eyes locked on the other members that were starting to snarl and pull out knives. She realized that this was the first time he’d ever said her name.

“Fine,” she choked, backing into him instinctively. “Let’s get out of here!”

“Tch, it’s the half-breed loser,” one snarled.

Another scoffed, “Ugh, gross! Bet his mom was burned at the stake for bestiality.”

“Half-demon?” A third grinned. “Half the power.”

Inuyasha was shaking with rage. “Keh. These guys are nothin’.”

“Inuyasha, no-!”

He’d already flown forward, kicking away the first one before smacking the knife out of the hand of the second. With his claws, he slashed the other across the face. The one he’d kicked tried to rush at him again, but Inuyasha elbowed his head into the ground and stomped on it.  After knocking the third out with the butt of his own knife, the second had managed to retrieve his weapon-

-and stab it right into Inuyasha’s waist.

Kagome shouted out, wanting to rush forward, but her feet were frozen in fear.

Inuyasha gave a cry of pain, but kneed the man in the gut before pulling out a gun from under his jacket. He set it at the man’s skull. “You had better beat it, kid, before you really manage to annoy me. My finger gets a bit  _ twitchy _ when I’m annoyed.”

And finally, the last one turned tail and bolted from the bloodstained alley.

Inuyasha shoved the gun back into its hiding place and turned to her. “Coast is clear. Let’s get you home before more idiots show up.”

“You just got stabbed!”

“Eh, I’m half demon. No biggie. Don’t get all blood squeamish.”

“I’m not blood squeamish! You’re hurt badly! We need to get you to a hospital!” she argued.

He seemed rather surprised at her concern. “Oh. Nah, it’s, em, fine. Don’t need a hospital. I survived hella lot worse before. I’ll put a band-aid on it when I get home.”

“A band-aid?! You’re going to bleed out and die! There’s blood everywhere! I’m calling an-”

“Stop,” he said, striding over and snatching the phone from her hand. “I don’t need a damn… look, it's not worth it, okay? I hate hospitals. It hasn’t punctured any organs. And I’ll be fine with a few days and a few bandages. I’m not dying before I beat Naraku.”

Kagome was struck with terrified indecision before she steeled herself and said firmly, “Fine! Then you’re coming to my house and getting cleaned up with the first aid kit! Or I’ll call an ambulance!”

“I  _ have _ your phone,” he pointed out, shaking it in his hand.

“Well, try to keep me from taking it!”

He paused, and she felt triumph; despite his roughness and selfishness and aggression, for some reason, she knew he refused to hurt her. And if she tried constantly to fight over something with him, it would mean he could accidentally hurt her.

“Tch. Fine. Just- oh shit-” He’d tried to take a step and fell flat on his face.

“I thought you said it was ‘no biggie’!” she shouted at his groaning form.

“Ugh! Leave me  _ alone! _ ” he cried back dramatically.

It took five minutes to help him limp back home, feeling his blood seeping through her fingers as she tried to help him put pressure on the wound. He was looking extremely pale, but made no sound. Though that was slightly disturbing as well; usually he would have insulted her at least ten times a minute and argued with her about something ridiculous. 

Finally, they made it to the outskirts, to her little white house that they’d cleaned up to not look as broken-down as the rest. Gently as she could, she managed to get him up the rickety steps and into the front door, where she had to practically drag him up to her room; she didn’t want her family to see him, if she could avoid it. He didn’t complain.

After quickly spreading a sheet over her bed, Kagome grabbed a dark, red towel and pressed it to his side. “Lay on the bed and keep that on it.”

Then she bolted from her room to the hall closet, from which she pulled the kit; her mother had been a nurse, so they were well stocked and Kagome was well informed about medicines.

When she returned to the room, Inuyasha was doing as she’d asked, taking deep breaths and wincing. His face returned to neutral as soon as he saw her.

“Here,” she muttered, gathering setting down her supplies on the nightstand and gathering more pillows. She stacked them behind his back and then handed him a glass of water. “Take these pain meds and let me see.”

That twerp then had the nerve to glare at her suspiciously, as if she was going to sabotage him. Kagome gave him a last, peircing look, and he finally grunted in agreement. He threw the pills in his mouth and chugged the water immediately before letting her slowly slide the jacket off. After she carefully hung it over a nearby chair, Kagome cut his tattered, white shirt open and all the way off.

The cut was long and wide, but not as deep as she’d dreaded. Still, she flinched at the sight of it and closed her eyes for a moment. Oh, it must hurt so badly-

“This is stupid,” Inuyasha muttered. “Just rub some dirt in it.”

“Well, apparently you’re feeling okay enough to be a brat,” Kagome told him, pulling over her desk chair to sit on. “And probably because you’re doing what I said. So be quiet and let me clean this.”

“Tch. Whatever.”

Kagome was intent on her work, eyes narrowed as she wiped the wound and surrounding area clean and began to apply antiseptic. She could see his muscles tense with the sting, but… 

Whoa.  _ That’s a six pack. Like, a real one. Not animated. _

She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head before turning her attention back to where it was needed.

Soon, she’d finished applying the last of the closure bandages that acted as stick-on-stitches, followed by a bandage over the wound and bandages wrapped around his lower torso.

“There,” she said with a tired smile. “That should do it. Now just rest.”

“Like hell I’ll-!”

“Rest. Is there someone I should call to explain the situation and how you’ll be staying?”

“What?!”

“You need to stay overnight. You shouldn’t be moving around; it’s bigger than I thought,” she explained, trying to be more patient while he was injured. “Now, should I call anyone?”

“I am not staying here,” he spat, trying to inch off of the bed.

“If you get off that bed, I will march up to Kikyo tomorrow and explain to her in detail how you’re madly in love with her.”

His face grew tight with anger and slack with horror back and forth a few times before he whispered in disbelief, “You are  _ evil _ .”

“Don’t go calling the girl that just stopped you from bleeding out ‘evil’!”

“Well, then don’t you threaten the guy that saved your life! Or at least your damn virginity.”

Kagome paused, and then cursed herself.

“I’m sorry,” she told him, turning with a smile. “I was so focused on your injuries that I forgot to say thank you. I really am grateful; I don’t know what I would’ve done. I would’ve been dead or one of those girls haunted by a terrible experience every day of her life. Thank you, Inuyasha.”

Instead of a simple “you’re welcome”, all he did was gape at her, pink dusting his cheeks. “U-uh… w-well you didn’t have go get all mushy and shit…”

With a roll of the eyes, she sighed, “Just stay there, okay? As thankful as I am, the threat stands.”

Groaning in exasperation, he sank back into the pillows. Quickly, so that he wouldn’t try to leave while she was out, she scurried out of the room to check for bloodstains. Luckily, all their floors were wood, so all she had to do was wet a cloth and follow the trail of dark red down the stairs and across the ground. Outside… well, there was nothing she could really do about that. When she was finished, she hurried upstairs, relieved to find Inuyasha still laying there as she’d asked. And that’s when his phone rang.

After glancing at it’s screen, he threw it off to the side and muttered, “Ignore it.”

She frowned. “Who is it?”

“My dumbass brother-hey!”

Kagome had snatched it up at the word ‘brother’. “He’s probably worried about you!  Answer it.”

“He wouldn’t be worried if I got shot in the face.”

“Such a drama queen,” muttered Kagome. “Fine. I’ll answer it myself.”

“Don’t-!”

“Hello?” she said, pressing the screen to answer and holding it up to her ear. She danced out of Inuyasha’s reach. “This is Inuyasha’s phone.”

“ _ Who is this? _ ” a cool voice said. “ _ My brother was supposed to be home. If you’ve kidnapped him, you’re very stupid.You’ll soon let him go out of irritation _ .”

“I promise, I haven’t kidnapped him.” She put the phone to her shoulder and stage-whispered, “I can see the resemblance; jumping to the most violent conclusion.”

“Shut up! I don’t resemble that bastard at all!”

“ _ Ah, I hear he is with you _ ,” the brother said, voice ever a monotone.

“Yes--I’m Kagome, his friend from school-”

“ _ My brother doesn’t  _ have  _ any friends _ ,” the brother said, voice becoming a tinge amused.

“That asshole,” Inuyasha muttered.

Kagome laughed nervously. “Um, well, he’s made some recently. We got in a bit of a scuffle on the way home; I was attacked and he saved me, but he ended up getting hurt. He’s just recuperating at my house, and I don’t think he should move much more today. Is it alright that he stays overnight?”

There was quiet for a moment, then, “ _ Getting into more ridiculous trouble, I see. What is it this time? Was he shot or stabbed?” _

She blinked several times. “U-uh, stabbed…”

“ _ Ah, alright. Well, if you’re willing to take him in, I won’t stop you. I assume I don’t have to warn you that he can be a bit of… _ ”

“An idiot? A selfish, aggravating, violent jerk?”

“ _ I was going to say insufferable piece of shit, but yes, that works as well.”  _ Kagome laughed while Inuyasha let loose a stream of more of his creative threats, and the brother continued,  _ “I am grateful for your service to him and will provide you compensation- _ ”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary-”

“- _ for his unbearable attitude and poor company. He says I have no feelings, but now I believe I am feeling extreme pity for you _ .”

Inuyasha began to reach towards the phone angrily again, but Kagome commanded, “Inuyasha, sit!”

With his ears perking up, he plopped right back into place obediently.  

“Wow,” she muttered. “I didn’t expect that to work.”

“ _ He has a nasty habit of responding to such commands,” _ Inuyasha’s brother piped up over the phone.  _ “You should try telling him to roll over sometime. _ ”

“Sesshomaru!” Inuyasha called out, grinding his teeth. “Daily reminder that I hate you!”

“Don’t say that to your brother, Inuyasha!”

“ _ I believe you will be a good influence _ ,” Sesshomaru mused. “ _ You shall train him well. Do try to stay sane. Tell him I said to be a good boy, I expect him home tomorrow night, and I hate him too. _ ” The line went dead.

Kagome placed the phone on the bedside table. “So… Sesshomaru, huh? He’s kinda…”

“A sociopath? Asshat of the year?”

“I was going to say he’s kinda strange.”

“Now that,” Inuyasha said, “is also accurate.”

“What does he do?” Kagome interrupted, sitting back in her chair beside the bed..

With a wince, Inuyasha settled back down into the pillows. “He’s Commander of the seventh district.”

“Oh,” she said, remembering his dislike of cops. “That’s why. Well, he does seem to care about you, in his own way. He called, after all. And lives with you.”

“Keh. He’s tried to kill me at least ten times.”

Her eyes grew round. “Wait, really?”

“Yeah.” He closed his eyes, folding his hands together on his bare chest. “It was a couple hundred years ago. Sesshomaru was mad that dad left me the sword that he wanted. We fought over it a few times, I cut off his arm, and he found he couldn’t make its demon energy powers work anyway. So he let it go, eventually. When he adopted a little girl, I guess he softened up or somethin’.”

“He has a daughter?”

“It was a long time ago.” Inuyasha examined the wall beside him. “She’s been dead for a while. In any case, after that, he dedicated his life to avenging dad, like I did. He’s been a lot of things, but when he heard Naraku pop up in Chicago, he came here as a cop and ended up running into me; I was following the lead too. I don’t know what came over him, but he just took me to his flat and gave me a room. I needed a place to stay other than my alleyway, and I paid some rent. I wouldn’t have stayed, but he stayed out of my way and… he said it’s what dad would have wanted.”

Kagome tilted her head, biting her lip. “But really… he tried to kill you?”

Inuyasha’s face flickered, as if he were searching for words. “It would be… hard for a human to understand how it isn’t that big of a deal to us anymore. Back then, killing another person wasn’t like… taking a life, so much as solving a problem. People didn’t really value each other as much; they died all the time.” He managed a shrug. “So many years go by that… some of the bad parts just fade into nightmares and you can’t hold onto too much of the past. And like Miroku said; I age a lot slower. I was just a kid, then. A kid for decades. I felt invincible and near-death experiences were just blips on the screen.”

Pulling her knees up to her chest, Kagome hugged her legs and nodded slowly. “I think I get it.” Eyes trailing around his brooding face, she said tentatively, “I was pretty surprised when you didn’t deny being my friend.”

His gaze flicked to hers. “Didn’t feel like arguing,” he said gruffly. “Ugh, why did I just tell you all that stuff? Was there something in those pills that wasn’t just for pain?”

Kagome rolled her eyes; something she found herself doing more often every day with him. “No, you dork. Everyone needs to talk, sometimes. And I’m a good listener.”

“I don’t need to talk.”

“What you  _ need _ ,” Kagome huffed, “is to stop putting on the tough guy thing around me and the other Inugami. Seriously, I already know you’re tough. Loosen up.”

“I am not-!”

“Holy crap, do you still have that gun?!” Kagome cried, suddenly remembering. “Oh no, I mean, I was planning on hiding you at first, but since you’re staying, my mother is going to see you when she gets home! You can’t have that in here or she’ll think… she’ll think I’m all involved in gang activity-”

“Uh, you are.”

“-and think you killed someone or that I’m going to get killed--oh, I am not! I was shoved into a fake gang and I refuse to get involved in-!”

“Calm down!” Inuyasha shouted. “Look, here it is.” He pulled it from a strap on his side that went over his shoulder; she hadn’t noticed it. “Relax. It’s empty, okay? I never fill it with anything. It’s just for show, to make bad guys run away. Here.”

She flinched backwards as he pointed it at the wall and popped out the magazine, which he handed to her. Like he said, it held no bullets. “All empty,” he repeated. Then he opened the chamber to show her that no bullet rested inside there, either. “Keep that magazine, if it makes you feel better. Just shove the gun under some pillows.”

“O-okay,” she muttered, pushing the magazine under her pillow under the sheet. Inuyasha was about to hand her the empty gun, but then hesitated, grimacing and staring at her hands.  

“I’ll… I’ll do it,” he said, turning and lifting the sheet.

“You’ll hurt yourself,” Kagome scolded. “Why shouldn’t I-?”

“Your hands shouldn’t be holding a gun,” he muttered, not meeting her eyes. 

“It’s empty,” she told him, not understanding. “I could hardly cause a misfire. And I thought you said it would be stupid not to have one.”

His teeth gritted. “You have tiny, gentle hands, okay? You look too damn innocent and my gun ain’t about to ruin that! Will you shut up, now?”

At this she grew quiet.  _ Tiny, gentle hands. _

Slowly, she smiled. Miroku’s prayers were answered. Inuyasha really was a total softie.  Deep down. Mariana’s Trench deep, but at least it was there.

“Don’t even think this thing could shoot if I were to bullets in it, not that I’ve tried,” Inuyasha muttered. “It’s not really a gun.”

“Um, it quite obviously is.”

“Is not,” he shot back. “It’s not really a secret to Spiders, Wolves, or the Inugami, so I don’t mind showing you…” He pointed the empty gun at the wall, and said loudly, “ _ Tessaiga! _ ”

Kagome yelped when the gun flashed and elongated into a beat-up samurai sword. 

“How did you do that?” she asked, agape.

“It’s infused with demon energies,” Inuyasha explained, smirking at her dumbfounded expression. “This is the sword that Sesshomaru used to try to take from me. I need to carry it with me, and I can’t exactly subtly carry a sword in this time period. It changes when I want it to. It looks like a piece of junk now, but it’s infused also with the will of my father to protect humans, and protect… me. Its true form made from his fangs.”

“That’s amazing,” she said wonderingly, eyes trailing up and down the blade. “What’s its true form?”

“Bigger and way more badass. The maker of the sword said that it only works when I’m protecting someone. So I could’ve made it work earlier today, but I didn’t really feel the need to destroy an entire block for a couple of thugs.”

“...the entire block?”

“Maybe you’ll see it someday. But this isn’t really the kind of weapon I can use in a populated area.” Inuyasha said the name of the sword again, and it shrunk back into a gun. He tucked it under the pillows. “I only used it on demons, back then. The ones without souls, of course.”

Kagome frowned. “There are demons… without souls?”

Inuyasha sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “There are demons like the Wolves and Shippo and my brother and half of me… and my father. They have souls and morals and such. Then there are the more animalistic demons, existing purely on demon energies, that are simply monsters with an insatiable taste for human blood. Those are the ones I used to kill, and the ones priestesses and monks trained to exorcise. Exorcisms still work on regular demons, because we contain demon energy that’s used for our differing appearances and powers, but the exorcisms wouldn’t always work. Besides, exorcising a demon with a soul is murder. Even if I’m only half demon, losing half of myself in an exorcism would likely still kill me.”

“Oh,” was all Kagome whispered. Kind of sad, how she lived in a shrine back in Japan and still didn’t know all the details about demons. 

As if he wanted desperately to change the subject, he blurted,  “You don’t need a knife or gun, alright? I’ll walk you home from now on. Especially when you’re an idiot and stay in the damn library until it’s almost dark out.”

“I needed to study! And…”  Kagome frowned. “I never told you I was in the library…”  And her frown deepened. “How did you show up in time to save me, anyway?”

His eyes widened, but before he could think up an answer, the door swung open, and Kagome jumped. Her mother stood there short, brown hair windswept and kind eyes shining, saying in Japanese, “Kagome! Brought some food home from the restaurant--would you rather have…” 

Her mother trailed off, finally noticing Inuyasha and letting out a high gasp. Kagome stood, blood flooding into her cheeks as it did when she was under pressure. She held up her hands and waved them. “It’s not as bad as it looks! Mom, this is my friend from school, Inuyasha. I was about to get, um, mugged on the way home, but he saved me; he got a bit hurt, though, so I brought him back home. I’m having him stay the night to get better. Sorry I didn’t call you; I was busy patching him up because he refused to go to the hospital and-”

“Kagome,” her mother said gently, walking forward and placing a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “It’s alright. You did the right thing.” She then turned to Inuyasha, saying in English this time, “Thank you so much for helping my daughter, Inuyasha. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Are you in a lot of pain?”

“U-uh…” He looked overwhelmingly awkward and blushing. To her mother’s delight, he began to respond in perfect Japanese, “N-no problem, um, nah, I’m good. I’d go home, but she won’t let me.”

“Nonsense,” her mother insisted. “From the bandages, the wound looks bad. You really should stay. What would you like for dinner? I’ve food fresh from our family restaurant’s kitchen.”

“I… um… anything is fine. You really don’t have to…”

“Alright! I’ll pick something out for you.” Her mother gave a last smile before she turned her attention to his bloodied jacket. With a frown, she picked it up and left the room.

“Wh-why is she taking my jacket?” Inuyasha said, aghast.

“Probably to get the blood out of it,” Kagome told him, then added in afterthought, “Take your pants off, too. They’re probably covered in blood.”

His mouth dropped open. “My pants?! Hell no, woman!”

“They’re gross! You can’t just wear them to school tomorrow! I’ll get you a blanket to cover up.”

“Yes, I can wear them!”

“It’ll look like you had a nasty period!”

He blinked, then shivered. “Fine.”

Grabbing the nearest blanket from her chair, she laid it over him. “You can take them off under there.”

After he grudgingly did so, she blushingly took the bloody pants and rolled them into a ball. “I’m going to help her with the food; stay here or you know what I’ll do.”

Inuyasha glared at the ceiling. “Kikyo wouldn’t believe you anyway. Even if she did, who cares? It’s pointless until I save her.”

Kagome paused. “Fine. Leave if you want. But if you do, I’ll grab Koga tomorrow and make out with him right in the middle of the hallway. He is pretty hot. And I might just tattoo a wolf on my face.” With a teasing smile and a wave, she skipped from the room.

She closed the door on his shouted, “KAGOME!”

She came into the kitchen after dropping the pants off in the laundry room, whistling merrily. Hugging her mother from behind quickly, she began to get out a bowl for the soup that mom had pulled the cover off of. “Thank you for doing this, Mama.”

“It’s no trouble, dear.” After a few seconds of ladling out some soup, her mother said in a casual tone, “So… Inuyasha. He’s pretty cute, hmm?”

“Mom! Let’s  _ not _ go there.”

“Adorable little puppy ears.”

“...yes. That is true.”

“He seems sweet. In a quiet way,” she went on.

Unable to help it, Kagome let out a loud peal of laughter. “Inuyasha? Sweet?! Haha, that’s possibly the last word I’d use to describe him. And usually, he doesn’t shut up. His favorite thing is to be aggressive and annoying and selfish.”

“I think that may be a bit harsh, dear,” her mother scolded.

“Well it sounds mean, but if you knew him better…”

Her mother closed the remaining soup. “If you dislike him so much, why did you call him your friend?”

Kagome hesitated. “Em, well… I don’t know. He certainly doesn’t consider  _ me _ a friend. But he protects us, my friends and I, I mean. And he’s got a good heart somewhere. I guess... he’s not used to being taken care of, or having to care for anyone else.”

“Well, you certainly are a good teacher in that area, Kagome,” Mother told her gently while she poured some hot tea. “He’ll simply need a lot of patience and affection.” Tapping her playfully on the nose, she added, “Higurashi women have the skill of knowing a good heart from miles away. So when you find one, nurture it.”

The bowl of soup was as warm as her chest. “Yes, Mama. I’ll do that.”

“That’s a good girl. Now take up that soup with the bed tray. And… sweetheart, you look like you murdered someone. You might want to take care of that.”

Kagome finally noticed that her hands were covered in Inuyasha’s blood, at which she shrieked and rushed to the sink.

After several minutes of frantic scrubbing, she delivered the tray and two bowls of soup up to her room. Inuyasha was still waiting obediently when she entered, tapping dully on his phone. His eyebrow twitched in irritation. “Damn you, Tubbs. I put out that food to get Mr. Meowgi to come…”

“Here’s some soup,” she announced, breaking his focus from the screen. He quickly stashed the phone away. Slowly, she set up the bed tray so that its legs stood up on either side of him. She placed her own bowl off to the side on the nightstand. “Before you eat, I’m getting you a bowl of water; your hands are filthy.”

Inuyasha breathed in deeply the scent of the soup, eyes brightening. He only nodded, turning his attention to his bloody hands.

After he’d cleaned up, he began to eat ravenously, as if he hadn’t in days. Kagome sipped on her own, slightly horrified at the sight of him tipping the soup into his mouth.

With a satisfied sigh, he sat back onto the pillows. “Man, never thought I’d get the chance to have that stuff again.”

Kagome tilted her head. “Again? You’ve been to the restaurant before?”

Freezing, his eyes darted around. “U-uh… no, I just…”  Scratching the back of his head, she barely heard him mutter, “My mom used to make it like that.”

It was as if all of her insides softened into dough. Setting her soup aside, she said gently, “She must have been amazing.”

“She was.” He closed his eyes, and shook his head. “Whatever. It was a long time ago.”

Wishing, as he, to change the subject, Kagome cleared her throat. “So, you never answered my question. How did you know I was in the library?”

“Saw you heading that direction,” he murmured. He wasn’t looking at her.

“And how you managed to save me so fast?”

“I happened to be nearby. Don’t you have anyone else to interrogate?”

“You were following me, weren’t you?”

“Wh-what?” he stuttered, eyes flicking around for an escape route again. “Th-that’s stupid. Don’t flatter yourself.”

Feeling a smirk twisting onto her face, she said, “You’re a terrible liar. If you don’t care so much, why bother making sure I’m safe?”

“You’re Inugami. As a leader, it’s my job. N-now shut up about it!”

She smiled. That had been a clear enough answer. “Okay. But I have a question about something else.”

Inuyasha only grunted in response. His gaze regarded her, though. The moon seemed to cast an ethereal glow to his piercing eyes as its light streamed through her open window. Shifting in her seat, she asked, “Why did you bring me to the roof, that first day? You hated me, and you don’t seem like the kind that takes pity on girls that were kicked out of their table.”

His look was steady, and he stayed silent; she figured he wouldn’t bother to answer. But eventually, he started, “I have really good hearing with these things.” His dog ears flicked back and forth. “For example, I could hear you and your mom talking about me in the kitchen. For the record, I’m not cute. I’m badass.”

She felt her cheeks heat, but he cut off her strangled protest. “And… I heard what those girls said about me. I mean, I’m used to it, so I didn’t really care, but you… I’ve never heard someone defend me before, okay? I just… I just did it. You were even nice about me and… well… you looked alone.” His voice had faded to a gruff mutter at the last part. Kagome could almost see memories and conflict like a film, streaming across his eyes.

_ I’m used to it _ … did he mean people treated him poorly only because he was a half demon? Alone… perhaps was something he related to.

_ Mutt. _

_ Freak. _

_ Half-breed. _

_ Loser. _

_ Gross. _

_ Half the power. _

_ Not that anyone would miss him. _

_ Bet his mom was burned at the stake for bestiality. _

And yet, he’d put the harsh words aside to protect her, gotten hurt badly.

She didn’t want to think about the horror she felt when she thought, for several long minutes, that he was going to die.

Before she knew it, Kagome felt the heat of salty tears trailing from her eyes. Inuyasha backed up on his pillows, eyes widening in a hilarious sort of terror. “Wh-why are you crying?!”

“S-sorry.” She knew he wouldn’t appreciate her pity. Quickly drying her eyes with a sleeve, she said thickly, “I-It’s nothing. Thank you for telling me.”

“Okay,” he muttered, still looking scared, but disgruntled all at once. “No more feelings. I’m going to sleep.”

“Good idea,” she agreed, though she huffed at the ‘no more feelings’ comment. Honestly, why bother crying for someone who would only scorn her for it? “I’ll turn the lights off and get ready for bed myself.”

He got very still. “Uh… where are you gonna sleep?”

“On my Papasan chair over there. Where did you think?”

In the lamplight, she could make out his darkening cheeks, shaded by his snowy hair splayed out across the pillows. “Nowhere in particular. Just do your thing.”

“Yes, your  _ highness _ ,” she said scathingly, marching over to her bathroom and pulling the door shut behind her.

By the time she was ready to curl up in her chair, he was already asleep.

 


	3. Chapter 3

When consciousness trickled back into her at the sound of her alarm, for once, Kagome bolted upright.  _ Did he leave in the middle of the night? _

To her immense relief, Inuyasha still lay in her bed, light snores occasionally drifting from his mouth. With a tired smile, Kagome walked past him and to her shower.

The hot water seemed to flood her veins with energy. Once she stepped out, she dressed in her sweater and skinny jeans in the bathroom; she didn’t want to chance Inuyasha waking and seeing her in a towel.

As soon as she was done, she walked out and stared at him, wondering how she should wake him up. As usual, her eyes trailed up to his ears. Oh, this was perfect. Finally, he wouldn’t notice if she…

She reached down and petted his ears.

Kagome stopped after about half a minute. “Okay, now that that’s out of my system…” Tapping his forehead, she said, “Hey, Inuyasha! Wake up! We’ve got school, and I need to change your bandages. Then we need breakfast.”

“Food?” He sat up immediately, and then winced at the pain in his side. “Ugh, we have to change them?”

“Yes!  Now sit still and let me take this off…”

Apparently he decided that there was no use in arguing, because he sat silently and let her unwrap his torso. She took off the sticky bandage as slowly as possible. Kagome could see him sweat, bite his cheek to avoid sounds of pain.  

“Sorry,” she said quietly, tearing the rest off and examining the wound. It was already scabbed over, having closed closer together nicely. “Hmm, good healing from demon powers, huh? You could probably take a shower, if you were careful. Get all that extra blood and dirt off of you.”

He pursed his lips. “Fine. But you cut up my shirt, and took my pants and jacket...”

“I’ll get you a shirt, and your clothes are washed. Now I’ll turn around while you go into the bathroom. You can grab a towel from the cabinet over the toilet. Please try not to make a mess, and be very careful of the wound. I’ll re-bandage it when you get out, and I’ll leave your clothes by the door.”

“Okay,” he grumbled, and she turned so that she wouldn’t witness his underwear as he slid his legs off the bed to do as she instructed.

Once she heard the bathroom door close, she headed downstairs to collect his clothes. Her mother was in the kitchen, humming as she arranged three Bento boxes. Kissing her mother’s cheek and saying a bright, “Good morning!”, Kagome picked up the newly cleaned jeans, jacket, and black, short-sleeve, button-down shirt.  

It wasn’t long until Inuyasha was out of the shower and had his pants on, sitting grumpily on the bed as she re-bandaged him. “It’ll be a scar in two days. I don’t need so much-”

“Cut it out.” She attached the gauze to itself and backed away. “Is that too tight?”

“It’s fine.”

“Alright.  Now put on that shirt and let me brush your hair,” she commanded, holding up the shirt to his side. “I know button-down isn’t your style, but it’s so that you don’t have to stretch your arms over your heads and strain the wound.”

Red flooded into his cheeks. “I can put on my own damn shirt!”

Her eye twitched. “There’s no need to be rude. I’m just trying to help so that you don’t open your laceration again.”

“Give me that,” he snapped, snatching the shirt and sliding it on. Taking the opportunity of his distraction, she grabbed the brush and began to drag it through his hair.  

“Stop that!”

“It needs to be brushed and you can’t reach behind you!” she shouted, bashing his head with the brush. “Can you put aside your stupid pride for five minutes like a mature person? It’s not like I’m going to announce to everyone that you can’t do it yourself. Now SIT and STAY!”

Again, he obeyed the command. But his jaw was clenched while he buttoned his shirt. She sat behind him and began to brush slowly, trying her best not to hurt him. It really was such beautiful hair, and deserved to be brushed to its fullest potential. Kagome wished she could play with it and braid it, but she only brushed until it looked shiny and straight--like usual, except better.

Then, she heard him sniffing. “This shirt smells kinda like you… but something off. Where did you get this thing? I thought you said your brother was littler than me.”

Kagome put down the brush and swallowed.  “It was my father’s.”

Inuyasha froze. “Oh. I see.” 

He didn’t say “I’m sorry” or “I’ll take good care of it”. All of that was communicated by how he carefully smoothed out the shirt front, ran his fingers along the buttons.

Kagome smiled, and slid off of the bed. “Here’s your jacket.”

His ears perked up straight, and he immediately took the clean, leather coat she held out. When his golden eyes traveled down to where the knife had punctured, he said with furrowed brows, “The hole… it’s…”

“Yes, my mother sewed it up last night.”

Inuyasha didn’t respond, but held the jacket close to his chest. So she’d been right; it was special to him.

As soon as they arrived downstairs, Kagome’s mother handed them each a lunch box with a homemade muffin on top. “Good morning! You can eat those muffins for breakfast, along the way. Inuyasha, are you feeling any better today?”

He was staring, dumbfounded, at the Bento she’d handed him.  Kagome elbowed him slightly, at which he cleared his throat. “Em, yes. Much better.”

“Wonderful. Oh, as a nurse, I wrote you a… well, fake, little doctor’s note for your gym teacher, saying you shouldn’t participate in class for a few days.” He looked as if he were about to protest, but she cut him off, “I’ve treated demons before; I know that a wound like this will take about three days, so that’s what I wrote it for. Please use it, or I may have to sik my daughter on you.”

With a look of resignation, he nodded.

“Alright. Better get going, you two! Be careful, and come home right after school, will you?”  

“Yes, Mama. Thank you!”

Her mother gave a last, warm smile. As she always did, she gave Kagome a parting kiss on the cheek… and also one to Inuyasha. He stared straight ahead, blinking rapidly.

“Inuyasha,” Kagome urged with a grin. “We have to go, now.”

Snapping out of his reverie, he turned towards the door… then stopped. “W-wait… I, em…”

Both of the women regarded him as he struggled to get out, “I just… uh…” He looked down at his jacket sleeves, the lunch box, the shirt, the hair falling into his eyes. “Th-thank you. Both of you. F-for… yeah. Um. Thanks.”

“Any time, dear,” her mother told him gently. “Be careful with that injury, now, and have a good day.”

“Thank you,” he whispered one more time before following Kagome out and towards school.

It was a bright day, not much smog clouding the blue sky that announced hope. Kagome twirled in the sunlight, laughing at the little flowers that poked up out of the pavement. Inuyasha scowled. “Geez, what are you so spazzy about?”

“Let me be happy or get on my unhappy side, mister,” she told him sharply. Then she turned ahead, finishing the last bit of her blueberry muffin. “You should eat yours! They’re good, and…”

She trailed off, drawing slightly closer to him. It was the alleyway from yesterday, where they’d taken her and the hands were so strong and large-

“What’s wrong now?” Inuyasha said gruffly, following her line of vision. “Oh. Keh, stop worrying about that place. It’s over.”

He put a hand on her back and put pressure on her slightly to get her moving. Kagome started forward uncertainly, shaking fear from her mind.  _ Inuyasha is here. I don’t have to be afraid. Inuyasha is here. I don’t have to be afraid- _

“I told you, fear smells gross. Stop it.”

“I can’t just stop it!” she snapped. “So  _ sorry _ that I’m not some life-worn, vengeance-seeking badboy half demon like you, who never gets afraid of anything!”

Gold flashed in her direction. “No need to go bitin’ my head off!”

“No need to be an jerk. If you don’t like my scent, then go off ahead. S-see if I care.”

“I said I’d walk you home, and I’ll walk you to school too,” grumbled the boy, but then he gave a nasty smirk. “Besides, you’d just get too  _ scared _ and run right after me, begging me to come back.”

It was as if he’d dropped a match onto her kerosene-drenched bonfire of temper. “Ugh! You are  _ insufferable! _ I try to be patient with you all night, try to give you everything you need, and it doesn’t look like it’s doing any good! I can’t believe anyone could be so insensitive! You are  _ such a jerk! _ Scared, huh? Ha! Eat my dust, you complete  _ jackass! _ ”

“Hey-!”

But she was running, book bag flying along beside her. Kagome set her jaw and narrowed her eyes on the horizon; she only wished to put as much distance between her and that monster of a boy as possible. He’d been much more compliant last night. Looks like the nicer-person magic spell had worn off.

“You’re really slow. Even for a pathetic human.” Inuyasha was running with her, no,  _ jogging _ . 

“Go away. Don’t run with your wound.”

“Will you stop being so difficult? I was just messin’ with you!”

“Sure. Because I totally deserve to be messed with. Don’t you have someone else’s morning to ruin? Because, despite how perfectly happy I was a minute ago, you managed to completely eradicate that; it must be a talent of yours.”

Inuyasha slowed to a stop, but she kept running.

Kagome only stopped when she reached her locker in the school, breathing heavily. She’d never run for that long in her life. She really didn’t run at all unless there was something to run from.

“Hey… you okay, Kagome?”

It was Shippo, standing beside her with an uneasy frown. At the sight of the younger boy, Kagome managed a tired smile; he was just too adorable not to smile at. “I’m alright. Just had a bit of a rough time getting here. How are you today, Shippo?”

“I’m good,” he told her cheerfully, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “The Thunder Brothers don’t bother me anymore, with this bandana!” He turned to wave around the red fabric tied about his fluffy tail, at which she bit back a squeal of cuteness.

“I’m so glad to hear that, Shippo!”

“I’m happy too…” He stopped and sniffed. “You got a lotta Inuyasha scent on you. Was he with you earlier?” Instantly, she felt a scowl leak onto her face, and Shippo’s eyes widened in realization. “Oooh, that’s why you’re in such a bad mood. What did he do this time?”

“Be a jerk,” Kagome sighed. “I really thought I was getting somewhere with him yesterday, maybe making him not so ‘tough guy’ all the time… looks like I was wrong.”

“I’m sure he’ll get there someday,” Shippo assured her. “He’s really not so bad when he’s not… so bad. I mean, he protects us, and you most of all. He actually told me how he was feeling yesterday.”

“Oh yeah?” Kagome perked up. “And how was he feeling?”

Shippo deflated. “Um, well, he said he was feeling like his fist was aching to break my face. But it’s progress!”

Kagome closed her eyes. “I don’t really think that counts, Shippo, but you are right; I should have more faith in him. I should have been more patient.”

“I’m sure you can talk to him about it when you see him. Don’t worry about it! He’ll never stay mad at you. You’re too likeable, and you look like Kikyo.”

“Really?” Kagome said, raising her eyebrows. “Thank you, I suppose.” But she didn’t really feel thankful. Well, thankful for the ‘likeable’ part, Kagome admitted that looking like a girl as pretty as Kikyo wasn’t so bad. But the thought of Inuyasha warming up to her just because she looked like someone else didn’t sit right with her. She wanted him to be comfortable with her because of who she was.

Yeah. Like that was gonna happen.

With a defeated sigh, she gave a last wave to Shippo before heading to her first class.

 

* * *

 

Lunch was, in one word, tense.

Inuyasha, who had begun to eat sitting in their circle, had now returned to the edge of the roof. His Bento box remained unopened beside him.

“He could at least eat the damn food,” Kagome muttered to herself, insides sizzling. “Ungrateful, arrogant, piece of-”

“Goodness,” Miroku interrupted. “I do believe you said a naughty word. Who are you and what happened to our little angel, Kagome?”

“Kagome,” Sango sighed. “Did something happen with you and Inuyasha? He’s been an icebox all day. I think he’s upset.”

“Upset? Tch. Making me angry probably made his day! He has nothing to be upset about.” 

At this, Inuyasha stood, snatched up his backpack and Bento, and stomped over to the door. They watched him throw it open and storm down the steps, trapdoor slamming behind him. Grimaces were passed around the group.

“Will you maybe tell us what happened?” Miroku suggested. “We may be able to translate.”

Setting down her lunchbox, Kagome tugged on her hair. “I guess I should start with… did he tell you what all happened last night?”

Her three friends paused in their eating. “No,” Sango said slowly.

With a wince, Kagome muttered, “Well, I kind of got jumped by Spiders on my way home.” She held up her hands when they all made exclamations. “They didn’t get the chance to do much to me, because Inuyasha showed up and saved me. He fought them off, but got stabbed. I took him back to my house to patch him up, and he stayed the night because of his injury.”

They were looking at her like she’d just announced that she was going to jump off Mount Fuji.

“Spiders?” Shippo stammered.

“Stabbed?!” Sango gasped.

“Stayed the night?” Miroku questioned, grin forming.

“It happened quickly, okay?” Kagome felt her cheeks redden. “Nothing weird happened! He was actually nicer then, but this morning, I got a bit scared walking past where I’d gotten attacked. Then there he goes, making fun of me for being afraid of it, and so we started fighting and… I ran the rest of the way to school. Ugh, he just drives me up a wall! I admit I shouldn’t have lost my temper, but then he just goes off and isolates and doesn’t eat the food my mom made and-”

“Gracious,” Miroku said, rubbing his temples. “Well, how about you tell us exactly what was said?”

“Uh…” Kagome tried to remember. “Well, he told me to stop being afraid, because he doesn’t like the smell. So I said if it bothered him, he could just go away! Then he’s all ‘Nah, if I did that, you’d run after me and beg me to come back’ and so I yelled at him for being an insensitive jerk and started running so that I could get away from him and then he has the nerve to run next to me, call me slow, and say he was ‘just messing with me’!” Kagome growled. “So I kinda just asked him if he had someone else’s day to ruin because he seemed pretty talented at it, and he finally stopped chasing me.”

“Easy!” Miroku slapped his knee. “I have the Inuyasha-action to normal-person translation.”

“Verdict?” Kagome asked.

“He cares about you.” Miroku shrugged. “And you hurt his feelings.”

“Wait,” Shippo said in wonderment, “Inuyasha has feelings other than ‘Hulk Smash’?”

“That’s ridiculous times fifty,” Kagome insisted. “That guy acts like he hates me most of the time. And I hardly said anything hurtful compared to him!”

“He doesn’t want you to be scared, because he’s willing to protect you,” Sango explained. “He just says it in a rude way. Then, you told him he was good at making people unhappy. Knowing him, he’s probably using your words to get in a broody inner angst monolog about how everyone he cared about in his life are gone because they couldn’t stand his personality along with his species.” Sango frowned. “Of course, scientists agree that demons are just humans with special powers, in essence, and not a separate species…”

Her eyes widened at Sango’s initial words. “H-he can’t think that… that I can’t  _ stand _ him.”

“Of course he does,” Miroku said softly. “The pain of feeling unwanted is a trait common among anyone.”

Kagome stared at the cement. “I am a terrible person.”

“That’s not true!” Sango soothed. “He still shouldn’t have said that stuff to you. You should go talk out what bothered you and apologize; even if it feels like it’s a hopeless conversation, I’m sure it’ll mean a lot to him, whether he responds or not.”

“I should have known him better,” said Kagome mournfully.

Miroku held out his hands diplomatically. “You honestly know him as well… if not better, than us. You were simply too angry to think further, which is understandable.” Then, he offered a smile. “Now go find him. Kiss and make up.”

“I’ll pass on the kiss part,” Kagome laughed nervously, but she stood.

“Who in their right mind would pass on the kiss part?” Miroku said, horrified.

“You’re gross,” Sango sighed.

“My  _ dear _ Sango,” Miroku purred, leaning towards her with both his head and his wandering hand, “you know I save all my kisses for you.”

Kagome exited the roof to the sound of Sango’s hand slapping across Miroku’s face.

 

* * *

 

Inuyasha wasn’t hard to find.

She just followed the shouting of, “ _ Koga, you son of a bitch! _ ”

Grimacing in apprehension, Kagome hiked her bookbag up higher on her shoulder and took off around the next two corners to a hallway that was mostly empty, where she found Koga, his usual, two lackeys from his gang, and Inuyasha, who had his claws and teeth bared.

“What do you want, Inutrasha?” snarled Koga, shoving Inuyasha’s claws away. “I don’t have time for a playing around with puppies today.”

“You bastard.” Inuyasha shoved Koga in the chest towards the wall. “You BASTARD! I told you that necklace would put her in danger! She got jumped last night because of your stupid symbol! Kagome almost got sexually assaulted by Spiders because of  _ you! _ Happy now, you motherf-”

Koga pushed Inuyasha right back, but his face had turned white. “What?! Is she okay?”

“Well yeah, because I showed up! Fat lot of help you were!”

“She’s in your gang, and you let her walk home alone?” Koga held out his arms in disbelief. “What kind of moron are you? And you think she got jumped because of a necklace? More likely she got attacked because of your colors!”

“She wasn’t wearing ours at the time!” Inuyasha shouted. “I heard them say it was revenge on you for something you did to them last week! They’re under some delusion that she’s your woman!”

“She  _ is _ my woman.”

Inuyasha stilled. “Say that again, and I swear to God, I will tear out your throat with my teeth.”

Koga wrinkled up his nose. “Kinky. Not interested.”

“Why you-!”

“Hey!” Kagome finally called out, marching forward. “Stop, you two. Inuyasha, let’s go-”

“You think I’m letting him get away with claiming you like property and putting you in danger all at once?” Inuyasha snarled, tearing his arm away from where she’d gripped it. “Stop interfering!”

“And stop fighting about this! It’s not getting you anywhere,” Kagome said firmly.

Before he could respond, Koga turned her towards him and took her hands in his own. “Kagome,” he said in a deep tone, “I am so sorry for what happened to you yesterday. I promise to protect you with my life and no longer trust other fools to do so. I will escort you home and to school every day-”

Inuyasha opened his mouth angrily, but it was Kagome who said, “I appreciate that offer, Koga, but I’ll be walking to and from home with Inuyasha, who graciously offered last night when he got stabbed for my sake. Very brave of him to save me, don’t you think?”

Koga just blinked down at her. And his wolves. And Inuyasha.

“Anyway,” Kagome laughed, “thank you for your concern, but I have to talk to Inuyasha about something now. I’ll see you in class!” With that, she grabbed Inuyasha’s wrist and speed-walked back towards the roof.

She only stopped when they came to the alcove that lead to the roof stairs. Inuyasha’s eyes, fixed on her, were cool and narrow. “What.”

“How is your side feeling?” she began quietly.

“The scratch is fine,” Inuyasha said shortly. “Is that what you wanted to ask?”

“No,” she told him, holding his wrists to keep him from getting away. “I wanted to apologize.”

His startlingly black eyebrows disappeared into his bangs. “For?”

“For what I said this morning,” continued Kagome. “What I said to you about you making me unhappy and being a jerk and all… I’m sorry. That was cruel of me. I was just… kind of overwhelmed thinking about everything last night; I’m a bit...traumatized. So when you made fun of me for being afraid, I was embarrassed and angry and overreacted. You’re my friend, even if you don’t think of me the same way, and I wouldn’t want to be your friend if you always made me unhappy.”

“Oh.” Clearing his throat, he drew a hand back to scratch behind his neck. “Oh. Uh…”

Kagome sighed and let go. Her hands were suddenly cold. “I guess I didn’t really expect that you’d apologize in return. At least my conscience is clear.” She turned towards the roof door, feeling her heart sink. Maybe she was wrong about him caring about her at all. Surely his next sentence would be rejecting her claim of friendship.

“I’m sorry.”

Hell froze over.

“What?” Kagome said, spinning back to face him. “Excuse me, I thought you just said that you were sorry.”

Inuyasha’s teeth ground. “For making fun of you! Don’t expect to hear it again!”

“Hear what?”

“Hear ‘I’m sorry’-oh you are a sneaky woman.”

Kagome laughed, stepping up to face him again. “I accept your apology, Inuyasha, and I forgive you.”

He gave a curt nod, turning his burning red face off to the side. “So… you turned Koga down.”

“Well, he did put me in danger, didn’t he?” She crossed her arms. “Instead of offering to take the necklace back, he still insisted that I was his and didn’t thank you for helping me.  _ You _ were the one that protected me. You’re my leader and my friend, and I want to walk with you-oh my gosh, you’re blushing.”

“I am not!” he protested, shoulders set firmly. “Demons don’t blush! And I got nothin’ to blush about!”

“You’re only half demon, and maybe you’re not used to being complimented?” 

“I thought I said no more feelings!” barked Inuyasha, turning back towards the stairs.

A smile was etched onto her face; she was so glad they’d convinced her to talk it out. Knowing it would tick him off, she cooed, “Inuyasha, you’re adorable.”

“SHUT UP!” 

She shook her head, grabbing the rail for the stairs that lead to the roof. In taking a step, however, she paused. “Um, Inuyasha?”

“Yeah?”

Wrapping her arms around her middle, she looked at her Converse. “You’re pretty good at hand to hand combat stuff, right?”

He shoved his hands in his coat pockets and tilted his chin up. “The best. What about it?”

“Could you… teach me?”

Inuyasha scoffed. “Why? I’m already walking you home every day. You don’t need to know.”

Kagome opened her mouth, then closed it and shuffled her feet. Swallowing, she finally muttered, “I know that. I just… felt helpless and I don’t want to anymore.”

She expected him to just snort, blow her off again. But when she looked up, his gaze had softened (minisculely), and he breathed out heavily. “Alright, fine. We start tonight.”

“No!” she said immediately. “You’re healing! We start next week. No buts.”

“...fine. Now let’s go so I can eat this box of amazing-smelling stuff instead of ignore it to piss you off.”

 

* * *

 

True to her wishes, Inuyasha waited a week. 

Exactly a week.

It was in the middle of lunch on that Friday when he blurted, after swallowing a slurp of Ramen, “You work at the restaurant tonight, Kagome?”

“I told you he started using her name!” Shippo cried, pointing at Miroku. “Within a week! Cough up.”

Miroku, ever in his purple shirt and jeans, groaned, digging in his pocket and pulling out ten dollars, which he threw in the kitsune’s direction. Inuyasha’s eye twitched. “You were  _ betting _ on me?”

“On when you’d say her name in front of us,” Shippo admitted freely, shoving the ten dollars into his wallet that hung from a chain on his pants.

“You little  _ twerps- _ !”

“Inuyasha!” Kagome said loudly, elbowing him in the side. “Yes, I have a shift until six.”

“‘Kay.”  His chopsticks stirred in the chicken flavor. “I’ll pick you up at six. Bring your gym clothes.”

The group jumped when Miroku dropped his apple. “Why didn’t I hear about this development?! Inuyasha, guy friends are supposed to talk about this stuff!”

Comprehension dawned on Kagome… no, more like slapped her in the face. She felt her cheeks warm at Miroku’s implication, but Inuyasha still looked lost. “Huh?”

“That’s not how to ask a girl out! You didn’t even give her flowers.” The boy shook his head sadly. “I thought I raised you better than this.”

“A-ask out?” Inuyasha stammered. Then, he threw his empty Ramen cup at Miroku’s face. “You  _ moron!  _ I’m teaching her self defense because she asked me to! I ain’t askin’ anyone out! Especially not  _ this _ annoying little idiot!”

“ _ Excuse _ you?!” Kagome demanded. “You watch your mouth! And if you think I’m so annoying, why did you agree to teach me?!”

“I had no choice, stupid! You’re the one that did the cute-big-brown-eyes thing and  _ forced _ me!”

Miroku cackled, Shippo and Sango following soon after with their own giggles. A grin was stretching across Kagome’s face. “I didn’t force you to do anything. Could you perhaps describe this ‘cute-big-brown-eyes’ thing? Sounds intriguing.”

“I hate you.” Inuyasha stabbed at his orange with a fork. “I hate you all.”

“No, you don’t,” Kagome said, blinking her cutest, biggest, brownest attempt at a gaze at him. He glanced up at her, flushing with a growl in his throat.

“I really, really do,” he groaned. “You’re lucky I don’t cancel on you, woman.”

“You’d never do that! You’re too sweet.”

“I hate you  _ so _ much. I’ll gouge your eyes out.”

“You’d never do that either. They’re too cute.”

“...I’m going to class.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

Kagome was just wiping down the counter by the cash register when the silver bell tied to the door jingled. The restaurant was bustling tonight, but she’d been promised to be let out anyway. Now, in walked Inuyasha, hands in his pockets and grouchy expression plastered on his face.

“Oh! Hello, Inuyasha,” she greeted. Her grandfather, a hunched, wrinkled old man in traditional Japanese clothing, came out of the kitchen just as Inuyasha took a seat at the stools by the counter.

“You’re late,” said the boy bluntly, eye twitching.

Kagome glanced at the cat clock on the right wall. “It’s six o’ one, Inuyasha.”

“Still late.” 

She threw her cleaning cloth at him. “Well, someone’s eager. Calm down; I’ll be out in a minute--let me grab my gym bag.”

“I am not  _ eager- _ ”

“Are you the one that will be teaching my granddaughter self defense?” she heard her grandfather demand as she passed the kitchen door. Her uniform was simply an apron over her jeans and blouse, so she slipped it over her head and threw it into the wash pile. Snatching up her yellow bag from the corner, she hurried out to where Inuyasha was waiting.

“When will you have her back home?” her grandfather was asking, and Inuyasha’s ears were flattening further by the second. “Is training all you’re doing?”

“What else is there to do?” Inuyasha grumbled. “I dunno. When do you want her home?”

“My curfew is one, since it’s Friday. But I’ll be texting my mom occasionally to let her know I’m safe,” Kagome spoke up, sliding over the counter to plant her landing on the other side.

“‘Course you’re safe. You’re with me. Now let’s go.” He turned and began to lead her from the restaurant.

She followed, but turned back to offer a wave and smile to her grandfather. “See you at home, Grandfather! I promise, I’ll be just fine.”

At least, she thought so, until she was led to a red and black Crotch Rocket on the side of the street.

“You’re joking,” she choked as he swung up a leg and mounted the motorcycle. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I’m not exactly a joking kind of guy,” he said, glowering at her as he produced two helmets. “Get on. My place isn’t very close.”

“Your place?! I thought we were going to a gym or something!”

“There’s a gym in the building I live in, so yes. Get on.”

She clutched the backpack straps on her shoulders tightly. “I’ll fall off and die!”

“You will be fine, you pansy!” barked Inuyasha. “I’ve been driving motorcycles for most of the years I’ve been eighteen. Miroku told me it was safer than my first idea of bringing you home, so be grateful.”

Taking a step back in apprehension, she asked, “What… was the first idea?”

“How I usually get home; jumping across the rooftops. I was going to carry you on my back.”

“What is  _ wrong _ with you?!” she cried, giving a shiver. “Now  _ that _ would kill me.”

“Then this must look much less scary, hmm?” Inuyasha said, unfazed. “Now take the damn helmet and get on; I won’t let you fall off.”

“Grandfather is going to murder me,” she muttered under her breath, finally making her way forward and tentatively taking the black helmet. Over her head, it gave her cheeks a squeeze and darkened her view so that the streetlights were given a ghostly sheen. It left the lower half of her face uncovered. After pushing all of her hair so that it all trailed down her back, Kagome slid on behind him, where she felt a weight drop onto her shoulders. It was the red, leather jacket.

Inuyasha’s voice was muffled from his helmet as he tied his hair back into a ponytail: “Wear that. It ain’t called the Windy City for nothing. And if you do happen to fall, it’ll keep your skin from peeling right off on the asphalt.”

She shuddered at the image and slid her arms into the too-big sleeves after temporarily removing her backpack. Zipping the jacket up, she put up the high, buttoned collar and snuggled in; it was still warm from his body, and carried a forest-like scent. Kagome replaced her pack onto her shoulders. “Well that makes me want to ride it  _ so _ much more. What about you?”

“Keh. I have demon skin, not weak, human banana skin. I don’t need it. Now suck it up and hold on.”

She only had enough time to grab him around the waist before he revved the engine and took off, rocketing into dark and nearly empty streets of the bad part of town. No one dared to be out but them. Kagome’s heartbeat was rapid, nervous at the turns and stop lights, but he rode smoothly and kept the balance well. She hoped she wasn’t squeezing him too hard, but the ‘skin peeling right off’ thing was still at the forefront of her mind.

And besides… as a city right on Lake Michigan, the chill always seemed to soak into her skin. Inuyasha was warm. Soon, she was relaxing, his steady heartbeat lulling her into a hazy, comfortable feel of security. She was melting into his essence of safety and that kindness about him that seemed so much more obvious now. 

Somehow, at the same time, Kagome was also lit in thrill. The world was speeding, flashing by, as if this bike with just the two of them were in their own little universe. A universe where they’d just watch time and places move along and it wouldn’t matter because there was the wind and the moon and  _ him _ …

It was about twenty glorious minutes until they finally made it through city driving-- _ this _ was Chicago, the place she’d seen in pictures, with buildings alit in colors, massive, carved fountains in the parks, a strange, giant  _ jellybean _ , all made of silver and glimmering reflections from the calm, ever spanning lake.

He veered off to the left at the next intersection, passing heaven-reaching buildings that dazzled like the replacement of the stars covered by smog. There really was something magical about the city at night.

Finally, the bike slowed into the lot of an elegantly constructed skyscraper, wrought-iron balconies curving out of every level and large windows displaying an abode on each floor.

He parked in a structure, turned off the engine, and eased off of the bike. Apparently he was feeling nicer tonight, because he even offered her a hand in assistance to step down. Kagome took it gratefully, convinced she’d fall flat on her face from the height. His hand was hot, hard, and she was sure it could have crushed hers if he’d wanted. But he just gripped her and her elbow, helping her get over the seat. Immediately after, she drew off the helmet and shook her hair loose; next time, she’d definitely have tie up a braid before she got on. Her black mane was tangled and scattered. Luckily, there was a brush in her bag, and a hair tie.

He took his off and ran a hand through his hair. “C’mon.”

She felt so small when she finally stood aside the building, and she stopped to look up at it with an open mouth. “Seriously… you live here?”

“No, I just came to blow up a random building along the way,” he drawled, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Yes, I live here. Is that hard to believe?”

“Well, you go to our trash school,” she told him while she followed into a lavish lobby, decked with white, cushy furniture, big screen TVs, and a man in a fancy suit behind a mahogany front desk. “Why wouldn’t you choose a more fancy one if you live in Lincoln Park?”

“Because that’s where most of the Spiders go,” Inuyasha told her. “Duh. Keeping an eye on Naraku.”

Kagome frowned as they entered the elevator. “Has it helped you find anything?”

“I’ve stolen several shards of Shikon from the members,” Inuyasha told her, pressing the button for the seventh floor. “Got them to the police, destroyed some more. I know all the effects of the drug, and got a meeting place busted once. But ever since, they’ve got a new communication system about where and when to meet, and I can’t figure out how they’re passing the info. But I will.” His golden eyes seemed to burn into the opening, metal doors. “And I’ll crush them.”

She’d forgotten how terrifying he could be.

They stepped out into a wide living and kitchen space, clean and accented with Japanese mementos that could’ve been hundreds of years old. Green, white, and tan colored the rooms and furniture, as if nostalgic for a bamboo forest. The latest stainless steel appliances glistened from the kitchen, and out the window, the shores of Lake Michigan reflected the lights and life of the city.

“Wow,” she whispered. 

Inuyasha gave a shrug, and it almost seemed a tiny bit bashful. “You manage to hoard a lotta money when you live as long as my brother and I. Wait out here; I need to grab some stuff and change.”

And he wandered off to a hallway towards the right.

Kagome set her helmet off onto the marble counter and then proceeded to stand awkwardly by the stools underneath. For something to do, she dug around her bag for a hairbrush and began to tug her way through all the new knots. It didn’t take long, and she then strung it up in a hair tie. That finished, she was shuffling her feet for several moments before she jumped at the sound of an opening door.

It wasn’t, however, down the right hall that Inuyasha had disappeared to; from the left one came footsteps, followed by a tall, beautiful man. 

His liquid gold eyes were sharp, purple stripes decorating his high cheekbones and a crescent moon on his forehead. His hair was long and white as moonlight, like Inuyasha’s, though he didn’t have the dog ears. He moved with the grace of a deer through a quiet wood, though he was only dressed in a plain, white t-shirt and gray sweatpants.

As soon as he saw her, he paused; the man didn’t seem surprised as if he didn’t know she was there, but his delicate eyebrows still rose, and his head tilted slightly to the side. “I thought a smelled a new presence. And you are?”

The deep, smooth voice was familiar. “I-I’m Kagome… I assume you’re Sesshomaru? We spoke on Inuyasha’s phone, once.”

“Ah, yes.” The amusement had crept back into his tone. “My brother’s… friend. May I ask why you are in my house?”

“H-he didn’t tell you?” she squeaked, taking a step back.  _ Damn him. _ “S-sorry… he promised to teach me some self defense--he told me to wait here while he was in his room.”

“He’s taking a shower,” Sesshomaru answered lightly. “I can hear it. I do believe he intends to be rude to you, and keep you waiting.”

“Nothing I’m not used to,” she muttered, twisting her hands together while she wrinkled her nose in annoyance. 

Sesshomaru examined her, emotionless eyes trailing her up and down, as if evaluating strategy in a battle map. This made her realize she was still wearing Inuyasha’s jacket, and she quickly removed it to fold and place by the helmet. After an uncomfortable moment, he spoke, “Well, do have a seat. I do not intend to bestow the same rudeness as my crude brother. Would you like some water?”

“U-uh… y-yes please. Thank you…” She cautiously slid onto a cushioned stool, feeling guarded. This certainly didn’t seem like a sociopath that had tried to kill his brother ten times. And Inuyasha had mentioned that he'd once cut off Sesshomaru’s arm… Indeed, there was prosthetic, metal one in its place, now that she looked more closely.

After water from the refrigerator had been poured in a glass, he set it before her and crossed his arms on the other side of the counter. “From your expression, I assume he’s told you a bit about me.”

Kagome grabbed the water and trailed her finger around the lip, shyly admitting, “Yeah… I don’t tend to believe all of his judgements.”

“Well, I was indeed a terrible person,” he said easily. Kagome nearly spat out the water she’d been sipping at his blunt statement. Sesshomaru continued, “But one grows, and demons with our life spans must learn to adapt to current times and expectations. That includes adapting their personality and behavior, as I have done. Inuyasha… has barely changed. At least, he hadn’t until his first human woman. Then he went back to normal when she left. But this school year, he is changing into someone different entirely.” The man’s eyes were calculating again. “For example, he has never brought anyone home before.”

“Never? Not Kikyo?” Kagome shrugged uneasily, itching with discomfort under the spotlight of his speculation. “I-I don’t know why he let me. He says he hates the gross smell of my fear, or something, so he’s probably just trying to get rid of it by agreeing to teach me.”

“Demons love the smell of fear,” Sesshomaru countered.

“He’s half demon,” Kagome said back. “And a kind man. Could that not affect his perception of the sense?”

The brother’s eyes narrowed. “You are a funny thing.”

“I’m not a thing.”

“I suppose not,” he agreed. “Well yes, I believe that could have something to do with it. I wouldn’t truly know, as a full demon myself.”

“You didn’t have the same mother?”

“No. Both of my parents were powerful dog demons,” Sesshomaru said, getting a glass for himself. He was so much calmer and more polite than Inuyasha had described. But maybe Inuyasha’s mind was still imprinted by the younger Sesshomaru, who had so hated him. “Inuyasha’s mother was a human my father fancied. The taste for human females appears to have passed on to my brother.”

_ This is awkward _ . “Um, okay.”

He took a slow drink, eyes still trained on her, and then set the cup down. “I do hope he hasn’t fancied himself in love with another human.”

“H-huh?” 

Sesshomaru sighed. “Human, is he your friend or lover?”

Kagome fell off her stool and stumbled before scurrying back to her seat. “Wh-what?! I wouldn’t… no! No, not my boyfriend! It’s not like that at all!”

“Calm yourself. I simply wondered, because his pining would be annoying.”

“He already pines all over about his ex,” she said with a roll of the eyes.

“Oh, I see. In love with the  _ same _ human?”

“Yep,” Kagome sighed, feeling worn and irritated, for some reason.

“Foolish boy. She’s Naraku’s pawn.”

Kagome gave another helpless shrug, finding it easier to talk to Sesshomaru now that the question he’d been hinting at was answered. “Unattainability makes someone more attractive, doesn’t it?”

“For humans, perhaps. To me, it seems silly.”

“Well, it seems silly to humans too. We just can’t help it.”

“Why?” He seemed genuinely interested, as if she were a specimen he wished to research.

“No idea.”

“Hmm.” After a moment, Sesshomaru shrugged elegantly. “I never liked his other female. She seemed rather… chilly.”

“You’re one to talk.” 

As soon as she said it, she clapped a hand over her mouth. He only raised his eyebrows at her. “Funny thing. I will not hurt you for stating a common opinion; it would anger my brother, and my brother’s anger is a scent I find disgusting.”

“Sorry. I agree, though; she is a bit cold, but she’s a nice girl. Beautiful, too. And... the smell of his anger must be a usual one.”

“Indeed.”

Kagome leaned on her elbows. “Do you usually discuss your brother’s love life with strangers?”

Sesshomaru crossed his arms again, as if he were blocking her. “I don’t discuss my brother with anyone, unless they already know him, and no one tries to know him. And they certainly never call him ‘kind’. You are quite a novelty.”

She squirmed. “I-I’m pretty normal, actually.”

“Oh? The rest of the world are the strange ones?”

“...what’s that supposed to mean?”

“What the hell!” Inuyasha had finally emerged from the right, wet hair pulled back into a ponytail and wearing a tank top and shorts. “Why are you talking to her?!” As she’d hopefully assumed, it seems the shower water must have kept him from eavesdropping from the other room.

“You’re the one that left your guest out here,” Sesshomaru said indifferently. “Can I not speak to her freely in my own house?”

“What’s there to know, eh?” growled Inuyasha, slinging a gym bag over his back and putting an arm around Kagome’s shoulder. His hands radiated heat from the steam. “C’mon, Kagome.”

She turned quickly as Inuyasha pulled her away. “Thank you for the water, Sesshomaru-sama! It was a pleasure to meet you!”

“‘Sama’?” he mused. “I haven’t heard that for a long time. Likewise, funny thing. I suspect I’ll see you again soon.”

“ _ What _ did you call her?” Inuyasha snarled, spinning, but Kagome put a forceful hand on his shoulder. 

“It’s fine, Inuyasha; I don’t mind. Let’s go.”

“Keh. Fine.”

To her surprise, he only led her back down the hallway he’d just come from, to the door at the end. It opened to a little gym, about a third of the size of the school one, but still large for a house. There was a large floor mat, as if for Karate sparring. Several, ragged dummies were stationed in one corner, two large and one tiny punching bags hung in the corner. Boxing gloves and wraps were scattered across a table, and weapons ranging from swords to handguns hung on the padded wall.

“Wow,” she repeated, turning in a circle. “It’s part of your house?!”

“My brother and I are kinda into combat stuff, so yeah.” He dropped his bag by a bench. “Now get changed and stretch, ‘cause we’re gonna run laps.”

She flinched. “Why are we running?”

“Give you more energy and endurance, strength in your legs for more power to a kick,” he told her in a monotone. “Besides, while it’s doubtful you could outrun a stronger demon, you could learn to be fast enough to shake off a human or weaker demon. Stretch first.”

Obediently, she followed her instructions, wandering behind an alcove with a sink and equipment room to change. Then she was out on the mat, pulling her legs from behind her, stretching one over her head, arms in front. The way he was watching her movements made her stop in discomfort. Inuyasha only crossed his arms. “You’re flexible. Good.”

“I used to dance…” Kagome replied awkwardly. “Would you mind not staring? It’s creeping me out.”

“I’m observing what you need to improve on!” he defended, looking away pointedly. “Do you want help or not?!”

“Okay, jeez,” she muttered, walking over to the side of the room. “How many laps do you want me to do?”

Much to her own appreciation, he walked up beside her. “We’ll run until you feel like throwing up. Let’s go.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am completely serious. Deal with it, woman. Now move!”

Much to her dismay, he was indeed completely serious. They switched from sprinting two laps to jogging two, in that pattern over and over until she lost count and her head spun. While she agreed that endurance running was a good idea, this was ridiculous. Her feet had already been hurting from her busy shift at the restaurant. Now, there was an added stitch in her side, her legs ached, and her lungs felt as if they’d fail her any moment.

“C’mon, Kagome,” he encouraged each lap, and he’d only broken a sweat. “One more. One at a time. You can do it. Imagine giant, mean demon chasing you and gonna eat you.”

For once, she was determined not to seem weak to him as he always claimed humans were. She kept running, though she felt her stomach twisting and like every inch of her was screaming that she couldn’t keep this up.

So, of course, she ended up throwing up in the sink in the corner.

“Shit,” she heard him mutter as she wiped her face down with a towel. “Shit, Kagome! You were supposed to tell me when you needed to stop!”

She didn’t answer, too winded and ready to keel over.

“Don’t lean over; hands over your head to open your lungs… that’s it… okay, we need to walk a few laps to cool down or it won’t be good…here, take sips of the water.”

Kagome’s vision swam as she took step by step; her muscles were twitching uncomfortably. After two laps of walking, they sat on the bench, where she leaned back on the cool wall.

It was a silence filled only with her labored breathing before he finally said, “You should’ve told me you were feeling too sick.”

“You said run until I feel like throwing up. So I did.”

“I said feel like throwing up, not run until you throw up!”

She turned her face away. “Well, excuse me for not wanting to hear you whine more about how weak humans are.”

There was a pause, and when she thought he was about to start yelling, he instead said quietly, “You’re not weak. Your body is different than mine and that’s okay. Don’t overdo it, woman. You have nothing to prove to me. This is about proving something to yourself.”

She didn’t respond; it was rare that he was that gentle.

“Let’s give it another five minutes,” he told her. “Then I’ll show you some disarming techniques and kickboxing. But we won’t do too much more.”

Inuyasha was true to his word. He only demonstrated strong stances, several knife and gun disarming methods followed by moves to incapacitate the opponent. He had her repeat them until her arms shook. This, he apparently noticed, and lowered his own, firm stance.

“That’s enough,” Inuyasha said shortly. “No more for today.”

Kagome nodded dazedly, glancing at the clock on her phone. It was ten already.

Next he told her, “Get out your clothes from before and rinse yourself off.”

Before she could ask where, he gestured out and opened the closest door on the right. It was his room.

It was also a mess.

Clothes and food wrappers were scattered about, a queen sized bed in a disarray of red and white sheets and quilt. There weren’t many possessions; a few movie posters, a frame holding martial arts belts from white to black, a small, old painting of a lovely woman that had Inuyasha’s delicate nose and mouth. That had to be his mother.

“There,” he said shortly, clearly not comfortable with her observing too much of his personal space. “Use a towel from the counter.”

Kagome found him in the kitchen when she’d finished, pouring two cups of milk with a look of deep concentration that made his eyes cross and ears flatten. It was all rather adorable. Wordlessly, he handed her a glass and sat down at the dining table for two.

Sesshomaru wandered back out into the kitchen while they drank and gave Kagome an appraising look up and down. “What have you done to the human, brother? It looks close to death.”

“Shut up,” Inuyasha hissed. “She’s fine.”

“I told you this was a bad idea,” Sesshomaru went on. “You’re far too rough and impatient for teaching. Look, the funny thing is going to fall over any moment.”

“I said she’s fine!” 

“I’m okay, really,” Kagome managed with a weak smile.

For some reason, Inuyasha demanded, “Are you hungry?”

She gave him a weird look at such a thoughtful question. “Em, I ate before I came.”

“You just burned it all off. I’ll make some ramen.”

“If I can barely stomach that garbage, a human certainly can’t,” Sesshomaru interjected. “The thing needs a sandwich.”

“No one asked you!” Inuyasha shot back. “And she’s not a thing!”

“Hush. You’re making it nervous.”

“ _ She! _ ”

“I’d like to go home,” Kagome sighed, head already beginning to ache. 

The older brother crossed his arms disapprovingly. “There you go, making the human feel unwelcome.”

“I’m not the one calling her an ‘it’!” argued the younger. 

“Please?” Kagome tried hopefully. 

After a short glaring match between the brothers, Inuyasha stood stiffly. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Kagome was drowsy the whole way home, shaking sleep from her heavy eyes. As if he felt her arms slackening, Inuyasha called back to her halfway there, “Don’t you fall asleep on me! You’ll fall off and die and they might put me in jail, which would suck.”

“Tryin’,” she muttered back in his ear, sleep tugging at her like an ache. It wasn’t long until he pulled over in the nearest street parking spot and tugged off the belt on his jeans.

“Whacha doin’?” she asked incredulously, blinking at him through bloodshot eyes.

Wordlessly, he pulled her arms tight back around his waist and began to bind them with the belt. “There. Now you won’t fall off.”

She smiled tiredly at his gesture, then sighed and rested her head to its previous position on his shoulder. After another rev of his engine, they were off, and her senses faded until her last sight was streetlight gleaming off of his moon-colored hair.

 

* * *

 

“Geez, took you long enough.”

Kagome only smiled at the gruff greeting as she descended the stairs of her front porch. He was leaning against the stair rail at the bottom, arms crossed, decorated with his usual jacket and bored yet hostile expression. “Good morning to you too, Inuyasha.” She handed him the lunch box her mother had packed for him.

“C’mon, woman,” was his only reply, but after a moment, he stared at the box and muttered, “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

The first part of the walk was silent, Kagome frowning as she thought of this morning. She’d woken tucked into her bed. Her first sight had been her mother’s knowing smirk. But she didn’t really know what the smirking all morning had been about.

Finally, she cleared her throat. “So, Inuyasha… I fell asleep on the way home, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, stupid.”

“Then how did I get to my room?”

He looked away as they turned down the next block. “Magic.”

Kagome decided not to ask further.

 


	5. Chapter 5

It was over two months later before Kagome was finally caught in the web.

She shivered as she finally stepped into the restaurant with Inuyasha at her side. Rubbing her glove-encased hands together, she drew off her white knit hat and matching scarf. “It’s a frozen wasteland out there!” she said and hugged herself with a shiver. At least it had been their last Friday, a half day of school, and it was now winter break. She glanced at the clock--noon.

“Keh. This is nothin’ compared to February,” Inuyasha dismissed, shaking the droplets and snowflakes from his hair that blended into the winter wonderland.

Kagome’s mother walked out from the kitchen with a rag in her hands and her everlasting smile. “Take off your coat and come in back, dears. No customers because of the blizzard today, so we’re going to try some American Christmas cookie recipes!”

Inuyasha wrinkled up his nose, but Kagome clapped her hands in excitement. “Ooo, those shortbread ones you shape with stencil cutter and put colored frosting on?”

“The very same.” Her mother turned a giggle to Inuyasha. “You too! Tie your hair up, sweethearts.”

Inuyasha had become some sort of unofficial employee at the restaurant. Grandfather liked to keep him around ever since last month, when their restaurant was being robbed at gunpoint--at least, it was until Inuyasha disarmed the criminal and took him out with one punch in the face. No one that looked mildly threatening had entered the building since word of their overprotective, grumpy, guard dog got out.

“I’ll clean or somethin’,” Inuyasha offered helplessly as they were dragged back into the kitchen, where ingredients and frosting and pans were spread across the counters. Neither listened to his pleas and set him to work, rolling out dough and slamming the cutters through it and on the table with unnecessary ferocity. 

Ignoring his usual, violent attitude, Kagome sang softly to herself along with the radio. “ _ I wish I knew how… to break the spell… I ought to say no, no, no… At least I can say that I tried...I really can’t stay… Ah, but it’s cold outside… _ ”

No matter how many times the same American songs were repeated every Christmas, Kagome couldn’t help but grow attached to them. While in Japan, Christmas was more of a romantic holiday rather than a religious event, it was all around a time for happiness and love; Kagome couldn’t get enough.

“What are you doing?” a critical voice huffed behind her, making her jump with a squeak. Inuyasha had his eyes narrowed at her while she put down the red frosting she’d been decorating with. 

“Um… frosting?”

“You were singing.”

“Yes…?” she said slowly. “It’s Christmas and I like Christmas songs. You got a problem with that?”

“I didn’t know you could sing,” he muttered, turning away and crossing his arms at the oven.

“Everyone can sing,” Kagome countered. “I just don’t sing as well as other people. I can dance better than I can sing.”

“Keh. What’s any of that useful for?”

Her eye twitched. “Making people happy isn’t enough?”

“Happiness doesn’t help you survive.”

“It doesn’t kill you, either,” she snapped, wondering where he was even going with this. It wasn’t even a good argument. But, of course, it wasn’t as if she could stand to back down from any argument whatsoever. Her mother called it her besetting sin. “Honestly, you could use some, you grump. When was the last time you were completely happy? When you let yourself be happy without holding back?”

He opened his mouth to dish back a retort, but then closed it. A flush decorated his cheeks, and his crossed arms tightened. His eyes looked up and to the side subtly, as if he was wracking his brains to remember.

Kagome waited, tapping her foot so that he knew she was expecting an answer. Finally, he cast his eyes downward and just gave a small shrug. “Got a long life, okay? I don’ remember.”

Pity welled in her heart, but she didn’t show it. Instead, with a stroke of determined inspiration, she snatched up the frosting she’d just put aside and squirted him right in the nose. 

He made a yelp of shock like a diva that just broke a nail as she cackled and dove under his arm, weapon held out aiming at his head.

“Why you-” he snarled, shedding his jacket. He grabbed the green and a glob stuck right on her forehead.

“Ew!” she cried, squeezing the frosting bag again so that it splattered across his apron. His eyes were alight with is revenge, but she pointed at his face and laughed openly at the red nose he sported.

“You’re gonna pay for that. Tenfold!” he declared, holding his frosting bag aloft like a sword. 

“Sure, if you can catch me, Rudolph.”

So Kagome took off and he gave chase, in circles around the center, stainless steel counter. He was growling, but for once, not scowling. His eyes were big and excited like a little kid, and he raced after her until he flat out jumped over the table where she was tackled to the ground. Several empty bowls and spoons went crashing to the shiny floor, but Kagome paid it no mind as she struggled under him. He held his frosting up threateningly. He held her legs down with his feet in his straddling position, wrists down with one hand.

“Get ready for a buttercream bath,” he sang with an evil chuckle. His clawed fingers began to squeeze slowly.

“No, no! You don’t want to do this!” she protested, trying to tug her wrists away from his grasp. “I’ll make you miso ramen!”

Predictably, he froze. “M-miso ramen?”

Kagome nodded quickly, trying not to laugh. “Yes! Extra chicken, extra pork, extra sprouts! Large mixing bowl size.”

His golden eyes thinned, but he’d already started to drool. “I want a written promise. And your shoes as hostages.”

“Sure thing. Just let me go, and no frosting.”

He released her immediately, after which she slid out from under him, grabbed her fallen frosting bag, and gave a full splat to his face.

“Traitor!” he cried, throwing out a hand to trip her. She fell again, though he made sure to cradle her head so that it didn’t hit the ground. Inuyasha snatched her weapon away and held both of the bags over her face as she was pinned again.

Saving her life, the door burst open and her mother rushed in. “We heard a crash! What… oh dear.”

Inuyasha scrambled off of her immediately, not even frosting hiding the blush in his face. “She started it!”

“Alright,” Kagome’s mother mused, wringing out a wet cloth. Instead of reprimand them, she simply told them to sit still while she wiped off their faces and handed them new aprons. “Do try not to knock so many things over, hmm?”

“Yes, Mama.”

“Pick those up,” she instructed gently, and then gave them both a smile. “I’m glad you’re having fun.”

And she left.

A silence, and then a grumble of, “Your mom is pretty cool.”

“She is.” After giving him a genuine smile, she stood and bent over to pick up the bowls that had fallen.

She was interrupted, however, by Inuyasha tugging at her boots. Kicking him away, she snapped, “Stop that, anklebiter!”

“Who you callin’ an anklebiter?” growled Inuyasha. “I want your shoes as hostage! I’m still expecting that miso ramen!”

Rolling her eyes, Kagome stepped out of her boots and pushed them over to him. “Fine. I’ll get started on that and make some for everyone for dinner, and you finish those cookies.”

“Yeah, whatever.” But he was smiling. A small one, but it was there, and it was worth it. 

It brought this unknown warmth to her chest as she saw it. Some kind of pull on her that made her melt and freeze all at once and her mind only screamed that she wanted to see him smile again.

So instead of actually starting the ramen, she turned her ear to the song that was playing. “ _...come on--it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you…” _

“Come on!” she echoed, stopping him from where he was walking and grabbing both of his hands. They were warm, hard. 

Inuyasha sputtered, “Wh-what are you doing, woman?”

But she just dragged him to the open part of the kitchen and danced around with her hands in his. He was speechless, staring at their hands and stumbling. “S-stop it! You’re being super weird!”

“Stop getting so embarrassed,” Kagome laughed. “It’s just me! No one is watching and I won’t tell anyone.”

“W-well I…”

“It’s Christmas, Inuyasha!”

His cheeks puffed up and eyebrows raised, preparing to refuse hotly, but instead, he deflated. “Fine, stupid! But this  _ does not leave this room _ .”

So Inuyasha danced with her, letting her twirl and spin around with him like they were six years old. Towards the end of the song, he was finally grinning and let out a bark-like laugh at her huge smile. She let him go out of the spin and they fell, panting to the ground by the back door.

When she looked at him, he burst out laughing. She didn’t know what was so funny, but after he laughed for a bit, she realized he was simply happy.

And she sure became happy when she focused more on the sounds he was making and heard… “Hahaha- _ yip! _ -Haha- _ yip! _ -Hahahahaha- _ yip! _ ”

“Oh my gosh,” she whispered. “That is the cutest thing I have ever heard in my life.”

His face became as red as the frosting that had been smeared all over it, from laughing and embarrassment. “Sh-shut up! I tried not to make that damn sound but I just…  _ yip! _ -Haha… Can’t…” And he kept laughing.

Which made her laugh until she was tired and her stomach hurt. With a sigh, she dropped her head on his shoulder and leaned back against the back door. “You should laugh more often, Inuyasha.”

“Whatever,” he said again, resting his own head on the door. He was looking away, like whenever he was hiding a blush.

With a split second of consideration, Kagome leaned over and quickly kissed his cheek before jumping up and skipping off to make the ramen.

“Wh-why’d you do that!” he stammered behind her, voice strangled.

“Mistletoe above the door,” she answered lightly when she picked out a big pot, feeling her own face heat and eyes widen when she fully realized what she’d done. “I-it’s a timeless Christmas tradition, so suck it up.”

He said nothing, but she heard him stand and make his way over to finish cutting up the cookie shapes. 

Soon, she was humming another carol to herself as she mixed in the spices with the broth. She’d put the meat aside where it was marinating in her mother’s special recipe, and now she had to add the sprouts-

She turned and bumped right into Inuyasha, who had been leaning over her shoulder and smelling curiously. Kagome had been so absorbed in measuring the mild spice that she hadn’t noticed his eager sniffing and hands on either side of her.

“Gah! Don’t  _ do _ that!” she scolded, pounding a fist on his chest. “I’m trying to make this for you, so back off! I need space and I can’t move with you right behind me.”

“Well soooorry,” he said with a snarl. “You know, most people would take someone smelling their stuff as a compliment!” 

“I will once it’s done! Now move!”

“Make me!”

“Do you want this stuff or not?”

“ _ So bad _ ,” he whined, breaking his growly composure and trying to move his head around her shoulder to smell it better. “I’m huuuuungry…”

“Stop begging,” she commanded, pushing him back with hands flat on his front. But it barely had effect, what with his insane strength and all. 

So she ended up nose to nose and somehow his hand was on the small of her back. And somehow her palm was cupping his jaw and his face was tilting until his mouth was a millimeter from hers and he was warm and electric and-

_ Ding! _ “Well this looks like my kinda place! Ah, I’m sure my woman is the best cook here.”

“You’ve got to be,” Inuyasha whispered, “ _ absolutely fucking kidding me _ .”

Kagome turned her head to the side quickly and coughed, terror and disappointment warring in her very throat. She tore her hands away as if they’d been struck by lightning. “U-uh, I g-guess we have some customers…”

Sure enough, there was a sound of many footsteps, scraping stools, murmurs of conversation before she heard her mother call from the front, “Kagome! Some friends here to visit!”

“I’ll tear them in half.”

“Maybe you should stay here.”

“Like the ninth circle of hell I will.”

Gingerly removing his hand, she slipped from his grasp and straightened her apron and hair best she could. After a heavy breath out to clear her spinning mind, she pushed open the door to the dining room and put on a smile that hopefully didn’t reflect her internal screaming of ‘ _ Inuyasha almost kissed me, Inuyasha almost kissed me, Inuyasha almost FREAKING KISSED ME. _ ’ “Hello Koga, Ginta, and Hakkaku--Oh, Sango! Miroku, Shippo! Thank goodness-hi!”

“Good day, dear Kagome,” Miroku greeted. 

“They followed us,” Sango explained flatly, jerking her thumb over to the Wolves in annoyance.

Shippo bounced in his stool seat. “We came to see you and get something to eat… but only if you have time to join us!”

“She does have time!” her mother insisted. “It’s wonderful to see you again.” Indeed, they all did come at least twice a week.

“Mrs. Higurashi,” Miroku said silkily. “I still wonder… however could you be a mother? I always think you must be a college-age sister that Kagome failed to tell us about whenever I enter. I certainly see where Kagome gets her good looks.”

“Oh my,” Kagome’s mother giggled, and Kagome groaned.

“Indeed, you have her lovely brown eyes,” Koga added, leaning forward. His eyes slewed over to Kagome, who he gave a wide smile. “Merry early Christmas, beautiful. I hope we find some mistletoe to relax under.”

“Merry Christmas,” Kagome laughed in a way she hoped didn’t sound too fake. He’d already reached over and taken her hand when Inuyasha finally followed after her, apron left behind and leather jacket back on.

At the sight of him, Koga stiffened. His growl reverberated so that her hand vibrated. “Mutt. What are  _ you _ doing here?”

“I was  _ invited _ , furry freak,” Inuyasha hissed. Without looking at Koga, he walked right in front so that their hands were forced apart. “Unlike  _ some _ flea bags. The hell are  _ you _ doing here?”

“I came to see Kagome,” Koga replied simply, pulling out a poinsettia flower and holding it out to Kagome. “For you. I heard that girls liked this sort of thing, so I tried to find a Christmas one.”

At this, Kagome felt herself soften. She took the flower and ran her fingers along the bright red petals. “It’s lovely! Thank you very much.”

“You’re welcome.” Inuyasha growled and appeared behind her, at which Koga rolled his eyes. “If you ever get tired of hanging out with that mutt, you know,” Koga continued, placing his face in his hands and leaning over the counter towards her. “You can come along by me.”

“You bastard son of a shit-infested-” began Inuyasha, but her mother came to the rescue.

“Kagome?” Her mother stepped between Inuyasha and the counter with an amused smile. “Would you introduce me to your friend?”

“Oh! Yes. Mama, this is Koga. I know him from school. Koga, this is my mother.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Koga,” her mother said graciously. 

“Likewise.” Koga glanced at Kagome and then tilted his head to the side as he turned his gaze back to her mother. “Can I marry your daughter?”

Inuyasha escaped from his Higurashi prison and cuffed Koga across the head. “NO.”

“Inuyasha, sit!” Kagome commanded. Inuyasha dropped to the floor into a cross-legged position instantly.

Koga laughed at this, which made Inuyasha leap to his feet even more angrily, but Kagome held him back while her mother responded, “Haha, oh dear, Koga. I’m afraid my daughter is far too young for marriage. She is to finish college first, and then she’s fully capable of making her own decision. Perhaps you can ask her then.”

“Or perhaps he’ll be dead in a ditch,” Inuyasha suggested.

“Really?” Koga said, ignoring Inuyasha for once in his life. “Isn’t she eighteen? Back in my day, she’d have a few pups already. I mean, I even offered to marry like a human. I’d be a good mate. Bring her food and protect her and everything.”

Inuyasha’s voice was low. “Your mouth is flappin’ but I’ll I hear comin’ out of it is ‘ _ Kill me, kill me, kill me _ ’-”

“I’m sure it was like that when you were younger, Koga,” Kagome said, voice rather high in pressure. “But not now. I appreciate the offer.”

“She really doesn’t,” Inuyasha countered.

“Let her speak for herself! She does and I’ll prove it once I beat you into the dirt once and for all.”

“Maybe if  _ you _ actually  _ heard _ her when she speaks for herself and stopped being persistent when she never said she was fucking interested-”

“Boys?” her mother interrupted, eyebrow raising. Danger radiated through the dining room. “It isn’t possible that you’d think of using bad language or fighting in my restaurant, now would you?”

They became statues under her gaze. “N-no ma’am!”

Her mother’s face morphed back into it’s usual smile. “Wonderful! Now you should take a look at that menu; we have some lovely new Christmas specials.”

When her mother walked away, Koga gave Inuyasha a happy-looking grin that almost appeared genuine. “Die slowly with your body rotting from inside out.”

Inuyasha returned the sickeningly sweet smile. “Burn eternally in the fiery pit of hell.”

“Let’s go get Miroku, Sango, and Shippo’s orders, Inuyasha,” Kagome said firmly, dragging him off by the arm.

Finally, they managed to calm him down and happily eat some miso ramen with the rest of the Inugami. Koga left eventually, promising to text Kagome later (Hopefully he didn’t yet realize that when she’d finally written down her number on a paper after his pestering, Inuyasha had stolen it back from Koga’s pocket; he’d replaced it with a number that spelled out “FUCKYOU” on the keypad), and kissed her hand, saying, “Someday, I’ll marry you.”

She’d just smiled politely until he left and she dropped her shoulders with a groan.

After an hour or two, her mother walked over with several packed tupperwares. “If you’re all done, how about you all come over and have a sleepover? We want to close up shop before the snow gets too bad, and I have plenty of cookies here for dessert and more decorating! Then we can all choose a Christmas movie.”

They all agreed quite readily. Except for Inuyasha, who made up some lame excuse about how he had to be home before dark to “feed his dog.”

“You don’t have a dog,” Kagome had whispered.

“I meant my brother,” he muttered back.

There wasn’t enough room in the car, so they decided to walk, backpacks hiked up. They were bundled up; Kagome had wrapped her scarf firmly around Shippo before they left, scolding him for the light jacket.

“We’ll have to choose the best Christmas movie,” said Kagome in determination. “Ideas?”

“Elf!”

“It’s a Wonderful Life?”

“Die Hard,” Inuyasha said firmly.

Pursing her lips, Kagome muttered, “Then again, maybe we’ll skip the movie…”

“Die Hard is the best Christmas movie ever!” insisted Inuyasha.

“Whatever.” She ignored him, watching the snow fall. “I want to build a snowman,” Kagome said dreamily. “I’ve never made one before. There was never too much snow on the south end of Japan.”

“I’ll make one with you, Kagome!” Shippo offered.

“I’ll throw a snowball at you,” Sango teased.

“I’ll protect you from the snowball,” Inuyasha said firmly.

“I think Sango would look fantastic in a snowsuit,” Miroku sighed.

Kagome rolled her eyes, and it was then that she noticed the black spider spray painted on the nearest wall, likely with a stencil. It looked like every other Spider gang symbol, and… “That’s gotta be the fifth symbol I’ve seen so far on this route.”

“Yeah, those dumb pictures are everywhere.” Inuyasha scowled. 

“It marks their territory,” Miroku explained.

“And they just do it when they’re bored,” scoffed Sango.

Kagome came to a stop when she saw one again. They were all different sizes, and sometimes off to the side of different graffiti, but now she saw… “Hey, are these… numbers?”

The rest of the group gathered around her. “Hmm, yeah,” Sango said, squinting at the small, painted series of numbers and letters at the bottom of the spider’s abdomen. 

“What do you think it’s for?” Miroku wondered aloud.

Kagome’s mind whirled. “I need to go see the last one.”

She took off to the way they’d came until she found the last wall that bore a spider. Sure enough, there was a sequence of numbers and letters; the same amount of numbers as the last.

Closing her eyes, she frowned. Then, her eyes snapped open and she said, “ _ Cipher _ .”

“What are you blabbering about now?” Inuyasha said, unamused.

“It’s a cipher code,” Kagome whispered. “The numbers are corresponding to letters of the alphabet. It’s an assumption, but see how the numbers never go over twenty six? It’s because this ‘one’ here means ‘a’, and the letters correspond to numbers, so that ‘e’ means ‘five’. Or maybe… no, that doesn’t make sense…”

She shook off her discomfort at their stares in astonishment, too focused on the puzzle at hand. “No, there must be some key word,” she muttered, letters and numbers calculating around in her head. “Otherwise… yes, usually they have a key word…”

“Whaddya mean, keyword?” Inuyasha spat impatiently.

“I mean a word to count off of. Probably key numbers too. That way, instead of simply counting through letters of the alphabet by number in constant sequence, you’d count up from the letter you have,” Kagome explained in a rush as she dug through her backpack. Finally, she pulled out a notebook and pen to copy the code down. “For example, if the corresponding word was periwinkle-”

“ _ Periwinkle? _ ”

“IF THE CORRESPONDING WORD,” Kagome repeated, “was periwinkle, then the first number, in this case a ‘one’ would instead mean ‘p’. If there were letters on the end of the cipher, you’d use a code number to count up from the code letter to reach the correct number. If the code number for the cipher key is seven, then you’d look at the letter on the sequence, start at the corresponding letter to that number… so seven would be...” 

Seeing that she’d lost her friends during her explanation, Kagome sighed. 

“Okay, look.” Kagome tapped her notepad, where she’d written out the word  _ periwinkle.  _ “Okay, let’s pretend that periwinkle is the code word. It means that instead of the alphabet starting at A, it would start at P. You with me?” 

As she got nods all around, she continued. 

“Okay. So say the number after one is seven in the code. Now, we’ve already used P, so we move on to letter E.”

“Wait, what?” Inuyasha stared at her, then shook his head in confusion. “Why is this so complicated?” 

“It’s a  _ cipher _ Inuyasha,” Sango said. “It’s not  _ supposed _ to be easy.” 

“I think Naraku knows that Inuyasha would only understand easy things,” Shippo said seriously. Kagome instinctively put herself between Inuyasha and Shippo while she continued to scribble on her paper.

“After you use the first letter in the code word, you move on to the next one.” Kagome explained. “It keeps it from getting too confusing. So we count seven letters  _ after _ E now, which would be L. Now I’m making this up, so it’s not going to actually spell anything, but if we  _ were _ then we’d have the letters ‘PL’ as the start of our word.” 

“Kagome, you’re a genius!” Miroku exclaimed. Shippo nodded in wide-eyed agreement.

Her face heated under the praise, and she couldn’t help but shoot them a grin. At least some guys around here wasn’t afraid to dish out compliments.

Inuyasha on the other hand… he frowned at the paper, then turned his gaze back to her. “That’s really… not stupid.”

“Wow.  _ Thanks _ . Your words are a true inspiration.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely not, you moron. Let’s go find where the code starts.”

“Don’t we need a keyword to start?” Sango said, striding ahead as they retraced their steps back.

Kagome bit down on her lip. “Em… yeah. But either it’s at the start of the spiders, or he communicated it to them another way.”

“Why does it have to be follow the spiders?” Shippo said mournfully, scuffing his boots against the ground. “Why can’t it be follow the butterflies?”

After several blocks of searching, they finally went too far to a point where there were no more spiders hidden in the wall paint, and they turned back to the closest one. “This has to be the first,” Kagome said firmly, starting a new page and copying down the sequence of letters and numbers clearly. “Now, next spider!”

It took only fifteen minutes to track down the order of spiders and copy down the code until they met the last in a rank-smelling alleyway.

“We have them all now,” Kagome said. “At least, I think so. I could try to use the first or last as a key word just in case, but I’m guessing, based on human nature, that it is truly a word in the dictionary.”

“Naraku doesn’t have human nature,” Inuyasha reminded her.

“He’s half human, and that human half is insane,” Kagome said back. “And nutcases absolutely love theatrics.”

“So this word…” Shippo said slowly. “He probably got through to all of them through word of mouth?”

“Quite likely,” affirmed Miroku.

Shippo and Inuyasha shared a calculating look. Shippo began carefully, “I’ve sometimes heard some Spiders in the halls whisper something weird…”

“You too?” Inuyasha squinted down at the notebook paper. “Yeah, they keep saying ‘oblivion 72’.”

“Inuyasha,” Kagome said, pinching her nose. “And you say this now?! Of course that’s the code word! Okay, give me a few minutes…”

After ten minutes of scribbling, tapping feet, and voices whispered as to not distract Kagome, she finally held her notebook up in victory. “This is it!”

The Inugami crowded around her hands while she stood. Sango’s eyes trailed along the lines. “This is an address. Not close to here.” 

“And today’s date right after it,” Miroku said, apprehension pushing into his voice.

“And the last four numbers…?” asked Kagome. “I don’t really get that part.”

This time, it was Inuyasha that instantly said, “Military time. Whatever this is, it means a time half an hour from now.”

“It would take nearly half an hour to get to this place!” Sango said. “This has to be his distribution site!”

“Today…” Inuyasha muttered, clenching his fists. “Damn, why did it have to be  _ today? _ ”

After a beat, Inuyasha strode the way they’d come. Hurrying after him, Kagome called out, “Hey, wait up! We should call up the police and-”

“Police my ass. I’m getting that bastard first and Sesshomaru can eat my dust.”

“What, you mean we’re just going there?!” Kagome squeaked, tripping along behind as the rest caught up. “We’re unprepared! We’ll be killed! No one knows where we are! We’re outnumbered! We don’t have handcuffs and guns and-”

“Sango, Miroku, and I are going!” Inuyasha shouted, stopping so suddenly that she crashed into his back. “You and Shippo are going back to your house while it’s still light out! I don’t have time to argue!”

“Well, if you don’t have time to argue,” Kagome said silkily, maneuvering around him and beginning to take the lead, “then you should shut up and let’s go.”

“Oh hell no.” Inuyasha caught up with her and tugged her wrist back. “I said stay here and that’s-”

“You are not my father or my boyfriend and… well even if you were, no one can tell me what to do! So let go and suck it up! You’ve trained me for this and I’m coming!”

“I said no!”

“Inuyasha,” Miroku warned. “You’re wasting your time. We need to get going.”

“That idiot is gonna get herself killed!” he protested. 

“It’s her choice to come along or stay; she’s one of us,” Sango told him. “I’d advise Shippo to stay as well, but I can’t make him.”  
Shippo kept jogging along. “Duh, I’m coming. Should we get a taxi or something?”

“Gets caught in traffic too easily,” Inuyasha said stiffly, obviously still irritated that the two of them were tagging along. “Shippo, transform into that balloony form thingie that you were bragging about and carry Sango and Miroku there. It doesn’t matter if we draw attention at this point, since we’re cutting it so close. I’ll take Kagome on my back.”

“I can’t carry both of them!”

Inuyasha shot him a sharp glance. “Oh,  _ sorry _ . I didn’t know your form was that  _ weak _ .”

“W-weak?!” Shippo protested. In a poof of cloudy air, Shippo was replaced with a large, pink balloonish creature that had crossing eyes and passable stubs for arms and legs.

Inuyasha stopped. “Wow. That’s… really sad.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” squeaked Shippo angrily as Miroku and Sango shrugged at each other.

Crouching down, Inuyasha said flatly, “It means your form is pathetic.” Once Kagome was on his back, she bonked him in the head with a small fist.

“If you’re asking him to do something for you, don’t go insulting him!” she berated. 

He only scoffed and made sure Sango and Miroku had boarded safely before he was off, running faster than the cars along side them. Snow stung against her cheeks, whipping around them like their own personal tornado. His motorcycle boots slammed repeatedly to the ground like a speeding drumbeat.

Kagome held on tight and put her face into his shoulder, trying not to think about her decision to go too much. It was insane. Like, walking-alone-into-a-blood-splattered-path-in the-woods-at-midnight insane. But what choice did she have? Kagome’s friends were determined and if she abandoned them now, she’d never forgive herself. 

Peeking up briefly, she caught a glance of people pointing up at Shippo’s bigger form floating with flailing stumps over skyscrapers. She resisted the untimely urge to laugh. 

While blocking her internal screaming, time passed quickly. The address led to a warehouse on the docks of Michigan. The waves lapped up against the rocking pier innocently, reflecting the calm colors of a gentle sun that was growing lower in the sky.

Shippo and the others were already there; Inuyasha set her down on the dirty sidewalk, eyes trained on the sky. “Let’s get this over with. Looks like everyone’s arrived already.”

Frowning, Kagome gave him an appraising look. Honestly, she expected him to be grumpy, but also excited about finally catching up to his arch nemesis. What was with his anxious determination to finish this quickly?

“So.” Miroku rubbed his hands together in good-natured enthusiasm. He took off his winter jacket in anticipation of the fight surely ahead. Sango and Shippo followed his lead and abandoned their coats, causing Kagome to do the same by the door. Miroku went on, “Now you got us on a daring adventure in which we finally reach vengeance. What’s the plan?”

“Walk in,” Inuyasha said, starting towards the old, metal door. “Find Naraku. Beat the shit out of him. Destroy Shikon. Deliver Naraku gift-wrapped to the police station. Go home and eat ramen.”

“Is that… truly the plan’s extent?” Sango asked, exasperated.

“One must appreciate simplicity,” Miroku muttered. “Honestly, it’s Inuyasha. What did you expect?”

“Won’t they shoot us if we just… walk in?” said Kagome, cursing how her voice had gone up an octave in fear. But she drew off her gloves, just in case her fists became necessary.

Shooting her a glance, Inuyasha stopped at the door. “Miroku has spiritual powers; he can make a barrier. Sango comes from a line of demon slayers. Shippo, as a kitsune, can move about twenty times faster than any human. I, as a hanyo, can move at the same speed. We’ll be fine. You are going to stay out here and hide in that alley.”

Kagome’s brow twitched. “Funny, how you talk as if you actually can order me around.”

“I can and I will! I’m your leader and-”

“Of a _ fake gang _ , you insufferable-”

“You’re wasting my time!”

“And you, mine! I can fight with my fists and knives! Let’s go in and do this because you know it’s useless to argue with me!”

For a few moments, it looked as if he was going through a series of internal combustions. Finally, he tore of his jacket and hissed, “ _ Henka suru! _ ”

_ Change _ .

The leather jacket rippled, and suddenly it was a shocking, burning red  _ suikan _ . Its sleeves were wide and laced with black ties, long and meant to be tucked into  _ sashinuki _ , like a Japanese warrior from Grandpa’s stories. 

Ignoring the gaping stares, Inuyasha roughly pulled the  _ suikan _ about her shoulders and gestured impatiently for her to put her arms through. Once she did, he brought the top over her head like a hood and began to tie the jacket about her waist. “It changes its form when I want--infused with demon energies. It’s made of the fur of a fire rat; it should give you some protection, at least. Bullets and human blades will shatter against it.”

“But wh-what about y-”

“I have demon blood. I don’t need it like your weak human skin does, remember?”

The jacket was warm, and felt like a protective hug wrapped about her. The sleeves covered her hands and everything was far too big for her, but Kagome managed a smile as she absently hugged herself in the soft fabric.

“Thank you,” she told him.

He blinked at her several times, eyes flicking from her to the jacket before his face became rather pink and he looked away. “Keh. Only did it because you’re a stubbornass woman. Now let’s go and  _ stay behind me _ .”


	6. Chapter 6

“They’re probably in the basement,” muttered Inuyasha, gripping the steel handle.

The door creaked ominously as they stepped inside. Sure enough, the upper level was empty, their boots clomping against the ground in a way that proved Inuyasha didn’t care for being inconspicuous. 

Noticing Sango brush up against her side, Kagome looked up just as she felt something being slipped into her hand; a long switchblade. Kagome gave her a subtle, grateful nod as they walked on.

From the fact that there were no members guarding the stairs, Kagome figured Naraku was either overconfident or a fool. She had a suspicion that it was the former. 

Breathing out deeply in attempt to control the fear that was making her hands and knees tremble, Kagome gripped the switchblade more tightly. They’d reached a back door with concrete steps, and Inuyasha stepped without hesitation towards the first. Swallowing, she gripped the railing before almost bumping into Inuyasha’s back. He’d turned to look at her, and she remembered his hatred of the smell of fear.

“S-sorry,” she muttered, trying to push it down where it collected in a lump in her throat. She was the one that had insisted on coming, and the last thing she wanted to do was burden them with her own terror. She pictured a purifying light passing through her whole body, a wall of light that pushed out any fear left over. It… didn’t help that much, but she tried to think so. 

Inuyasha stepped back up onto her stair. Instead of scolding and criticizing her for coming along at all, he instead reached out as if he couldn’t stop the movement of his hand. He slid warm touch from her shoulder to the small of her back, up again before he squeezed her shoulder one last time. His fingers were like fire across her body, though she was covered with many layers of clothing. She’d never seen him touch anything so gently before. Then he tightened his jaw, turned his face to stone, and marched on down the long stairway.

“What the hell was that?” Sango muttered, staring at where Inuyasha had touched her with genuine surprise and interest.

Kagome didn’t bother to answer, not knowing herself, but Miroku just shook his head with a knowing smile. “Told you, didn’t I? Total softie.” And he walked in front of Kagome.

Great--now she had more of a problem with the shock and racing heart than fear. Well, maybe it was better that way. But now she was distracted, for up had risen the unbidden memory of how close he’d been in the kitchen today, leaning over her with hazy eyes and hands clenched on her as if he never intended to remove them. 

_ This is  _ so _ not the time,  _ she groaned mentally. Steeling herself and taking a last, deep breath, she followed after the two boys, who had almost reached the bottom of the steps. 

The sight that met her at the bottom was a mob, a mass of people that filled nearly all of the hangar-sized basement. The air was damp and thick with must, sweat, and reaching hands pleading for their next fix. The Spiders’ eyes were sunken, ringed with shadow on their gray faces tinged with green. Why hadn’t she noticed how sickly they’d been looking at school the past days? It seems all of them had run out of the drug that kept them tethered to a sick and sad existence. Looking at their weak forms, it actually seemed likely that the Inugami could come out on top; the members looked about ready to keel over as it was.

None seemed to even notice as they came down and attached instantly to the back of the horde. Instead of worrying of being seen, the Inugami fixed their sights on the man standing on a platform at the end of all these people, boxes of his drug piled up behind and beside him. Naraku… it could only be him, grinned at the clamoring crowd like a giant spider viewing a mass of flies struggling in his web. She found herself instantly nauseated.

He wasn’t ugly, of pale and elegant face with dark, lidded eyes that promised darkness and pleasure. His long, dark, wavy hair spilled down his back like a waterfall of ink, blending into his black trench coat. His collar was up, curving with his delicate neck and cheekbones. But it was an infected sort of beauty, like dark, shimmering oil spilling into pure water. She shuddered.

Hearing a low growl beside her, she turned her gaze to see Inuyasha with amber eyes wide and trained solely on the man on the platform. There was a hatred alight and passionate in his eyes, so intense that she had to look away with a shiver. His ears were flattened, teeth bared and chest moving up and down as if he’d run down the stairs rather than walked. His clawed hands shook.

Not knowing what else would help, but desperate not to lose him to this raging emotion he was experiencing, Kagome slipped her hand into his and gave a squeeze. The boy froze instantly, other than a sort of tremor that ran through him. He was staring at her now, eyes wider if possible, and she wondered why he had to make such a big damn deal about it… she flushed. She was just trying to calm him down, for heaven’s sake!

So she clarified with a whisper, “Calm down. You need to focus.”

His throat worked. “Y-yeah. Yes. Okay.”

She didn’t really feel like letting go, needing comfort herself, so she didn’t. Besides… his hand was big, and unbelievably strong. It made warmth tingle through her.

“My faithful, fellow Spiders!” Naraku called above the begging and hissing and murmurs. All other sounds instantly ceased at his voice, which may have caused his grin as he continued, “I am delighted to see you all once more. I see you have gotten the hang of our coding system well, and you shall be rewarded for your loyalty. But first, our monthly meeting to discuss the climate out on the streets.”

_ The Spiders all must fear him very much to not rush up and try to take the drugs right away,  _ Kagome thought.

“Disgusting bastard,” Inuyasha muttered.

And when Kikyo stepped out from behind a few boxes, ethereal and statuesque as ever, Inuyasha dropped her hand in surprise and unwavering attention.

For some reason, it made her chest burn with a coiling and snarling heat. Kagome slipped her hand back into her sleeve and clenched her fist; maybe that’s why. Kikyo was up there, with Inuyasha’s arch enemy, and yet he was gazing at her like she was the only star in the sky. Kikyo wasn’t standing beside him, fighting to defeat this horrible man. Kagome was. 

_ She doesn’t deserve his admiration. She ignores him. She hasn’t stood by him. Not like I have- _

Kagome stopped herself right there, shaking her head quickly to clear it. Since when did such petty thoughts plague her? It was none of her business, and she didn’t know Kikyo well enough to judge her situation. Surely the woman had her reasons, and was a victim in this. What did she care how Inuyasha cared for Kikyo? He could do what he wanted with his own, messed up love life. It didn’t involve Kagome.

But that thought just pulled her back to earlier that afternoon, when he’d come so close to kissing her that she’d forgotten how to breathe, and may have forgotten how to stand if he hadn’t had her pressed firmly up against the counter. His cheek in her hand had been so soft, and she wondered if his lips would have been-

_Shitshitshit no! Stop!_ _Not the time! Never the time!_ Kagome closed her eyes to clear her mind once more. _It is never my place to wonder such things. He’s my friend. The best friend I’ve ever had. He was just caught in the moment of hormones. I’m simply flustered and I don’t have time for that right now._

But the thought of someone using her as an outlet to ease their sexual frustrations did nothing but tick her off.

_ Go away, feelings. _

And for the time being, it worked.

Naraku continued with his speaking. “The Wolves have attacked several groups of our members, fighting for the western border of our territory. I expect you to be defending and attempting further expansion.”

She’d never seen a gangster in a movie speak with such professionalism, but then again, as a half demon, Naraku was very old.

There were murmurs of “Yes, sir” across the crowd before he raised his hands again. “Also.” His grin was enough to make her want to turn back. “I hear this little tiny band that call themselves the Inugami are still determined to destroy us. Is that little, temper-driven halfbreed still cursing my name?”

Kagome grabbed his arm to stop him from moving forward. Still, that man had some nerve to call Inuyasha ‘halfbreed’ with such malice when he himself was half demon as well.

“Yes, sir,” one of the members near the front said, voice echoing. “They have not attacked in offense, though, sir.”

“Still, their pathetic quest has become quite irritating,” sighed the drug lord. 

“Would you like us to eliminate them, sir?” another one asked, sounding grossly eager. 

“No,” mused Naraku, contemplating with one, long-fingered hand twirling some hair and the other around Kikyo’s waist. “I want you to break them… break  _ him _ .”

“What?” Sango muttered behind her.

“The halfbreed constantly with that one girl, isn’t he? The new one. Isn’t it obvious? You don’t kill her… but feel free to attack that one, have your way with her, if you wish, boys.”

Kagome unconsciously took a step back, fear lodging in her throat. Inuyasha made a strangled sound between a snarl, gasp, and whimper. His arm instantly shoved her behind him, where the rest of her friends surrounded her in a tight circle. 

And like she’d been dreading, he shouted impulsively in a ringing voice across the room, “ _ Over my mangled, dead body, you slimy son of a bitch! _ ”

The Spiders had a collective gasp, looking behind them in quick succession to see an angry half demon ready to tear their throats out. But Naraku, she saw over Inuyasha’s shoulder, was only smiling. “Ah, I wondered if that would finally get you to say something. Uncharacteristically quiet, you were, Inuyasha.”

“Inuyasha?” Kikyo spoke quizzically from within Naraku’s tight grip.

“Kikyo…” he breathed back.

Kagome squirmed uncomfortably at his gentle tone.

“Ugh,” Sango said, “Sorry, man. Don’t ship it.”

“Agreed,” Shippo sighed. “Ugh.”

“Shut up, you,” Inuyasha barked back at them.

Naraku cocked his head, not looking in the least bit intimidated. “What exactly is your intention today, halfbreed? Did you come to… fight me? Five of you? How utterly adorable.”

Chuckles spread throughout the Spiders, and Kagome heard the telltale sounds of switchblades snapping from their shandles.

Inuyasha only growled, and Naraku continued, “Simply because you have a few allies, you think you can defeat me now? If even your full demon brother could not, what makes you think you could, with that disgusting sentimental value you hold onto your humanity with? Poor little Inuyasha, rejected in love all his life, thinking vengeance can ease his loneliness? And here you come, walking into an army without hope to-”

Naraku was halted by the firing of a gun and his cry of pain and surprise as bolts of electricity shook his body and sent him sprawling to the platform. 

Mouths hanging open, the group spun to look at Sango, who was calmly reloading her long-distance taser handgun.

Finally, she looked up. “What? I hate monologs.”

They were possibly shocked even more out of their skins when Miroku grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her right on the mouth. He held her close and kissed her for only a few moments before he released her with a simple grin. “I’m stupidly in love with you. Let’s go kick ass.”

“I officially don’t know what’s happening anymore,” Shippo stated.

“Chaos,” Inuyasha answered with a grin before launching forward. The rest took off after him (Sango stumbling slightly in a daze). No one had taken out a gun in fear of shooting their comrades. Spiders came, but were so weak from withdrawal that a single trip maneuver would send them crashing down and unable to get up. Kagome realized that this was Naraku’s miscalculation; the weakness he thrust upon his own forces, and something Inuyasha had probably considered before coming in the first place. 

With Inuyasha barreling a path through the sea of fists and knives, the Inugami rushed the platform and leapt atop. Naraku was already standing, Kikyo on the side watching as if it were a mildly boring movie. 

With a shout, long, thick, dark tentacles burst from Naraku’s back. Kagome cringed at his demon parts becoming visible, but still stood her ground beside Inuyasha, who had run forward with his claws raised. 

“Stay back!” Naraku called at his gang. “I have these myself!”

Kagome doubted he was truly concerned about them, but proving himself in front of his gang as well as insuring that none died so that his drugs would continue to have customers and people willing to join the gang was of obvious importance. Not to mention, they were so zombie-like that they’d likely get in his way.

“Iron reaver soul stealer!” shouted Inuyasha, and blades of winds sliced through the air from his claws, slicing off a tenticle with one swipe.

Shippo yelled, “Foxfire!” Blue flames swirled from the kitsune’s palm and struck the side of Naraku’s face, but he didn’t flinch. A tentacle came and caught the boy in the stomach, cutting off his air and sending him flying into boxes of drugs. 

“Shippo!” Kagome cried, starting toward him, but Sango spun out of the way of a tentacle and shoved something into her chest.

“Put this on!” she insisted. It was a face mask with a vent, and Kagome realized it was to make sure they didn’t inhale any of the Shikon that may get smashed. Miroku, Inuyasha, and Sango had already put some on.

“Right!” she agreed, and then ran to Shippo’s side, dodging and rolling a stray tentacle.

And that’s when she realized that the poor, groaning Shippo didn’t have a mask.

Without hesitation, Kagome strapped the filter around his face instead. He stared up at her as pink, sparkling dust began to rise, and he protested through the mask. She looked around in horror, smelling a thick, sugary smell. The dust of the drug rose into a cloud around the basement, causing the occupants to sigh in relief as they got a bit of a dose, and Kagome to stumble back.

“Kagome, why don’t you have a mask?!” Shippo demanded, but she shook her head, covering her mouth and nose with a hand.

She was so focused on not breathing that she almost didn’t feel the tentacle slamming into her side. Crying out, she toppled off of the platform, and heard Inuyasha’s desperate shout of, “ _ Kagome! _ ” It was followed by his exclamation of pain as he was smacked off the platform and crumpling to the ground beside her.

The sugary smell was growing overwhelming, and she coughed on its particles entering her lungs. Her side stung with pain she could never have imagined as she struggled for breath and to stop breathing all at once.  _ One fix will addict… no, no please I don’t want to get addicted… _

Inuyasha had crawled to her side, lifting her so that she rested on his shoulder. “You stupid girl! Why didn’t you put the mask on?!”

“Sh-Shippo didn’t have one…”

“Always have to be a damn martyr, don’t you?” he snarled with a muffled voice in his mask, putting his hands on her face and looking searchingly into her eyes. “Wh-wha… your pupils aren’t dilated.” His own eyes narrowed. “How do you feel? Stronger? More energy? Pain going away? It’s supposed to take immediate effect!”

“I-I certainly don’t feel any of that,” she groaned, hand gripping her smarting side. 

“Immune?” a dark voice mused behind them, and they spun to see Naraku, friends slumped on the ground behind him. He narrowed his eyes at her, and she tried not to cower under his gaze. “I’ve never met someone immune to my Shikon Jewel, but clearly she sits before me. Interesting. Perhaps she has some spiritual power, like my dear Kikyo. Though Kikyo is not immune…”

“Kikyo is not your anything,” Inuyasha snarled, putting Kagome behind him. “And I’ll tear your fucking throat out for putting Kagome in danger.”

“Will you, now?” The man was starting to grin. “I can feel your change coming. New Moon, then? The silver of the moon leaves with the silver of your demon hair. How poetic.”

Inuyasha tensed. “I-I don’t know what you’re-”

He stopped when there was a sudden pulse of energy that came from his very skin; Kagome felt it through the arms that were holding her behind him. Another pulse, a third, and then demon energy seemed to seep from Inuyasha’s very body. She felt it, as if it were melting through the ground. A gasp was pulled from her as she watched his hair darken to black, dog ears retract and human ears grow. His bared fangs shrunk to human teeth, claws reduced to normal fingernails. His amber eyes shifted like dyed liquid to a rich brown that was almost violet. 

_ Human _ .

“ _ Shit _ ,” Inuyasha muttered, pushing them both backwards on the floor as Naraku advanced. “Shit,  _ shit… _ Kagome, you have to run!”

“What’s going on?” she said in a strangled voice. “Why do you look human?”

“I’ll explain later! Get out of here!”

“Like hell!”

Too much talking; Naraku had drawn a blade from under his coat--a katana. He swung it down, slicing horizontally, at which Inuyasha dove to cover her body with his own and roll away. But she heard his hiss of pain and heard the splatter of blood from his back. When she crawled out from under him, there was a cut, long across his shoulders so that his shirt was torn wide  and his hair, his beautiful, lovely hair that she’d long admired, was mostly sheared off at the shoulder from the wicked sharpness of the blade. 

“No, no!” she cried out, quickly fumbling with the  _ suikan _ ties about her waist. If only he’d been wearing it-! 

Senses hyper aware, she ducked the sword coming at her and lashed out with the switchblade in her sleeve, slicing up with a large arc until she hit flesh. The blade slipped across Naraku’s cheek, leaving a deep trail of blood that only granted her satisfaction. 

Inuyasha shakily sat up to find a sword at his throat. Kagome rushed forward only to have a tentacle push her out of the way.  Naraku was solely focused on Inuyasha, a mad delight gleaming in his scarlet eyes. This wasn’t just annoyance… this was hatred. But what had Inuyasha done to deserve such personalized emotion?

Maybe… somewhere in that twisted heart of his, Naraku did care for Kikyo. And maybe… Inuyasha was the only one in the way of having her all to himself.

“You think you’re some sort of hero, Inuyasha?” Naraku said quietly, voice deep and thick with hate. Kagome struggled to stand with the black spots in her vision, but Naraku pressed his blade so that a bead of blood trickled from Inuyasha’s neck. “Perhaps impressive that you managed to find me… but futile. You, who are a disgrace to demon-kind? You, who has been the monster mothers warned their children from at night? You suddenly think you’re a hero like all of those foolish American movies? You, who are so pathetic at the single strike of my hand? You think you have a chance?”

To her surprise, Inuyasha only shrugged, letting out a laugh. “Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker.”

He tugged a dagger from his boot, and flicked it so that it sunk into Naraku’s shoulder. 

While Naraku roared in rage, Inuyasha rolled out from under the sword. He pulled a second dagger from his boot as Naraku struck down with his good arm, which Inuyasha blocked with his own blade. But his arm shook, human muscles unable to compete with the still half-demon. Naraku lowered his injured arm, punching Inuyasha in the stomach.

Inuyasha coughed and sputtered, dropping his dagger at the force.

“Your sword!” Kagome cried at Inuyasha. “Use Tessaiga!”

“It won’t do any damage to him when it doesn’t transform!” Inuyasha shouted back, ducking a tentacle. “It won’t transform for me when I’m human!”

Naraku lashed out with his katana again, and Kagome rushed forward to pull Inuyasha out of the way. She then stepped right up to Naraku in her anger, trying a disarming technique that only got her shoved away with a tentacle. He raised his sword over the pair of them, and Kagome covered Inuyasha’s body with her own-

A shot rang out, and Naraku was struck to the ground with a splatter of blood. The room looked around to the door, where stood a severely pissed off demon.

Sesshomaru.

“Bastard,” Inuyasha managed to choke, pulling himself into a sitting position. “What are you doing he-”

“Silence, you complete.  _ Fucking _ . Idiot,” Sesshomaru said calmly, voice creepily resembling Darth Vader through his ventilation mask. “Gather your friends and get behind me before I decide to put your sorry asses in jail for vigilantism.”

“This isn’t finished,” Naraku choked out, blood oozing from his side. It seems Sesshomaru had shot for the kill, but a tentacle had gotten in the way. Kagome didn’t feel as disturbed about Sesshomaru being so willing to kill Naraku as she should have.

“It’s not,” Sesshomaru agreed, as Miroku hauled Shippo along on his back and Sango at his side to pull them behind Sesshomaru. “Put your hands up where I can see them, Naraku, or the second shot will not miss the tiny target of your heart.”

“Come on,” Kagome whispered, pulling Inuyasha by the arm, but he wouldn’t budge. 

“No! I can defeat him myself-”

“You’re human now. Another day, Inuyasha-”

“Fools,” Naraku laughed. “I quite enjoy this little game we play, Inutashio brothers, and I’m not quite ready to see its end yet.”

And with a swirl of darkness, he was gone.

“Damn him,” Inuyasha snarled, clawing at where his enemy used to be. “Coward! Damn him and his teleportation-!”

Police poured down the stairs, all wearing the face masks, snatching as many gang members as possible and locking handcuffs about their wrists. But Spiders were just as quickly pouring out through back exits, snatching and scrambling for bags of drugs as they left. Kikyo was already gone.

It took a while to gather them up and get to the cars, what with Inuyasha’s protests. “I almost had him!” he was arguing as they were led to police cars that would take them home. “You just had to butt in, always in my damn way, and even miss the damn shot-”

There was a cracking sound, and all fell silent. Sesshomaru lowered the hand that had slapped across his brother’s face. Inuyasha’s face was turned to the side, dark eyes alight with anger, yet downcast. 

Sesshomaru’s voice was deadly quiet. “You are a foolish disgrace. This vengeance was both of ours, and you rushed into it, on your night of weakness, without calling me. I didn’t know where the hell you were. When I let you move in, we made a pact that we would defeat him together. You have broken any trust or faith I had in you, almost got yourself killed. I hope you are proud of yourself.”

“Trust? Faith?” Inuyasha scoffed, shaking his head. He then met his brother’s stare. He was shorter, but at the moment, they both looked just as dangerous. “You’ve never had any of that for me. What does family matter to you? You’ve hated me since I was born. Me and my dirty blood. You’ve never given a damn about what I do or what happens to me. That was made pretty clear when my mother died and you didn’t care when the villagers tried to stone me to death and burn me at the stake. You couldn’t care less if I died, so you don’t get to say that to me!”

Sesshomaru dealt him a slap to the other side, even harder than the first.

“Stop hitting him!” Kagome cried, pulling Inuyasha farther away. “I know you’re mad, but, but he’s your little brother and, and that’s abusive and he’s hurt already!”

Inuyasha snarled, “That piece of shit is not my brother!”

With a stare that froze heaven and hell over, Sesshomaru said in a quiet voice, more scary than a yell, “You  _ lie _ . Get into the car--all of you. I have no more patience for your emotional human state.”

“I hate you!” Inuyasha shouted.

Sesshomaru turned away from him. “Get in the car or get arrested.”

“Inuyasha,” Kagome whispered, feeling tears already slipping down her cheeks. Blue and red lights from the police cars were flashing across her face, and the night air bit at her cheeks; she’d picked up her jacket again, and handed back his, which had been much warmer. Before she’d left the basement, she’d also picked up the sad cut of his hair that lay on the floor and tied it into a careful knot that she’d put in her pocket. She now laid a hand on Inuyasha’s arm, another on his back. “Let’s go, okay? We’re all tired and upset. It’ll be okay.”

“What the fuck do you know?” he snapped at her, making her flinch back.

At the sight of her wince and tears, his face fell from a snarl. It was bright red on both sides from Sesshomaru’s hand, and his eye were so toiling with emotion that she found she already forgiven him.

“S-sorry,” he muttered eventually. “I didn’t mean...Fine. Let’s go. Your mother is probably worried.”

She was indeed worried.

Sango, Shippo, and Miroku had been dropped off at their homes first, happy sleepover idea forgotten. Inuyasha had been silent the car ride back, staring out the police car window with his jaw stuck in its hard position. In the front seat, the commander of the police department said nothing to his brother either; he only asked Kagome for directions to her house.

“Kagome!” her mother cried, rushing to her and tackling her to a hug as soon as Sesshomaru and Inuyasha walked to her to the door. “Oh, thank God, thank God… didn’t you get my calls and texts? Where were you? Are you okay? Who is…?” her mother saw Sesshomaru, and then the police car.

“Sorry I didn’t answer, Mama,” Kagome whispered. “I g-got a bit caught up… I’m sorry for worrying you.”

“Your daughter was part of an attempt to take down a powerful gang and drug distributer,” Sesshomaru said, voice back to a monotone. “I’d advise her and her friends to keep out of such dangerous and impossible endeavors in the future. She is not in trouble with the law; I simply am ensuring she arrives home safely. I take responsibility of my younger brother pulling her into his ridiculous plans.”

“I told her not to come!” Inuyasha insisted. Sesshomaru nonchalantly smacked him in the back of the head, sending him to his knees. 

Her mother stared in alarm, and then her eyes widened in realization. “Inuyasha? Is that you?”

“Yeah,” he muttered, stumbling to his feet. “Long story.”

Her mother paused, not letting Kagome go as she pursed her lips. “A long story I intend to hear from you both. Thank you, officer, for returning my daughter to me safely.” Mother, being the angel she was, looked to Inuyasha with concern. “If it would be alright with you, perhaps your little brother could stay overnight with us. It looks as if his hair could use some fixing, and Kagome is quite good with that. We would feed him and ensure he gets home safely tomorrow. I know he would never put my daughter in danger intentionally.”

Sesshomaru gave her mother a level stare, and then shoved Inuyasha forward, which made him wince from his wound on his back. “Keep him.” And he left.

“A rather… rough man, isn’t he?” her mother finally said, looking to Inuyasha. “I do hope he doesn’t hit you often. Is your head alright?”

“I usually hit back,” Inuyasha brushed the comment off. “Fine.”

After she’d pulled them both inside, she took Kagome’s face in her hands and began to check her over. “Are you hurt, my darling?”

“Really, Mama, I’m okay. He protected me, and he has a bad cut on his shoulders that needs treatment.”

“Sit down at the table then, Inuyasha,” her mother instructed, pulling out the nearest kitchen chair. “While I fix that up, you can explain to me what happened.”

It took ten minutes to tell the full story, Inuyasha interjecting at some points. Her mother looked more concerned by the second, but kept quiet. When they’d finished, there was a silence while Mama finished with his stick stitches and covered it all with a waterproof bandage. “I hope you know that you are grounded, Kagome.”

She looked down. “Yes, Mama.”

“For a week.”

“Yes Ma-wait, only a week?”

Sighing, her mother turned and regarded her with a tired smile. “I know you did what you did to protect your friends; you’re a grown woman now, and I cannot say I wouldn’t have chosen the same. I also know that I will not be able to stop you from doing so again. But I want you to know to make better decisions and choose your battles; both of you, while it seemed like a good opportunity, it truly wasn’t. You should not have rushed into this fight and I think you know that without me telling you.”

“Also, you are still young,” her mother went on. “Yes, you too, Inuyasha. You should let the police take care of this. It is no place for you. Now go to your room and get his hair cut--I’ll bring you both some dinner.”

“Thank you, Mama,” Kagome said, wrapping her in another hug. “I’m sorry for worrying you, and thank you for understanding.”

She got a kiss on the head in return. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

She looked up to see Inuyasha watching all of this with open longing in his eyes. Her heart hurt to know that he was thinking of his own mother that he’d loved so dearly.

Apparently, her mother had seen it too, because she then surprised him with a hug as well. He was stiff, but managed to return it. Her mother looked up at him with love and understanding, warming Kagome with some sort of relief.

“I know you would never mean to get her hurt, Inuyasha,” her mother said. “Thank you for protecting her. You are welcome here any time.”

He just swallowed and gave a nod, but that was enough.

Upstairs, she seated him in her vanity table chair and put a towel around his shoulders to catch falling hair. Her floor was wood, so she planned to simply sweep it after. Inuyasha’s face was emotionless as he regarded his own face dully in the mirror of the vanity. He said nothing as she wet it down and began to cut it into a shaggy style, short and to the normal length for a boy’s hair. She’d cut her brother’s several times, so she knew how to layer, thin, keep certain parts equal in length. She made sure to make those two parts on the sides of his head slightly longer; Kagome knew he liked to hide the awkward space on his head where human ears were supposed to be. Her mother entered and left silently at some point during the haircut, setting two bowls of Inuyasha’s favorite miso ramen on the nightstand. 

Finally, she stepped back, brushing hair from her fingers. “There. Is that okay?”

He stared. “I guess.”

Kagome bit her lip. “Okay… is there something you’d rather I do?”

“No. This is fine.”

Determined that he be happier with it, she scuttled to her desk, where she found the wide-holed metal beads with Japanese script upon them; she used them occasionally to dress up a chain about her neck, or attach to earrings. 

She chose the ones that said  _ courage, strength, spirit _ , and  _ love _ , and returned to his still form. Strangely, he did not protest or ask what she was doing when she began to twirl his forelocks in her hands as if to make them closer together and thinner. He seemed to be lost in his own world, unaware of anything around him. She slipped the beads, and several red ones in between, onto the front two parts of his hair so that they hung at the sides of his face. A tiny, practically invisible clip kept them in place.

When she was done, she lightly put her hands on his shoulder and leaned down. It was strange enough to see him with black hair, but stranger still that he hadn’t spoken practically at all since entering the house. “How about that?”

Slowly, he reached up and held the beads out to read them. His face finally softened. “Yes. I like it.”

“Good,” she said firmly, retrieving the small brush and dustpan that she’d gathered from the closet on the way up. 

There was a pregnant pause, filled only with the sound of her sweeping the excess hair away and carefully balling up the towel around his shoulders. 

“Samurai used to grow out their hair long,” Inuyasha said suddenly, making her halt while setting down the empty dustpan on her desk. “It was a sign of honor. Mine grew fast and long since I was little; I suppose that’s why my mom always… well, she always said I was her little samurai.” 

Kagome’s eyes filled with tears as he stared at his reflection, where he was tugging on a piece of hair as if that would make it grow. “She always told me to take care of it, keep it long and proud. As soon as a samurai’s hair was cut, so was his honor. All of his pride. I guess I’ve always seen it like that. And now I’ve let him get away, let her remain his prisoner, almost got you hurt…” He dropped his hair and looked into his lap. “I guess I deserve it, after all.”

She’d never realized how much his long hair meant to him, that it had any significance with his mother. She came forward, taking his hand and bringing him over to have a more comfortable seat on her bed. He followed like a zombie, watching his feet. From there, she put an arm around his waist and said quietly, “Losing a battle doesn’t mean we lost the war. We still have a fighting chance, to put that scumbag in jail where he belongs, and get… get Kikyo back.” Swallowing, she pushed away the angry thoughts she had before toward the other girl. “I decided to come, Inuyasha. That’s my burden alone; there’s nothing you could do about it, and you protected me best you could. I turned out to be immune to the Shikon anyway, right?”

“Lucky chance.”

“It still happened. We’re all okay, and that’s what matters. Your mother would still be proud of you.” His muscles tensed, and she went on, “Besides, I kept the hair that was cut at first. It’s long enough where we can send it in so that kids that lost their hair to cancer can have it. It’ll make someone really happy. Would you like that?”

“Yeah.” 

But Kagome remained crestfallen at his lost and broken expression, all the despairs and memories of the evening likely resting on his shoulders. His fingers still played with his hair. He still looked ashamed.

Unable to stand it anymore, she was struck with sudden, reckless inspiration, and marched to the vanity. His head snapped up when she grabbed a ponytail and tied it quickly. “What are you-”

He stopped when she snatched up the special, hair styling scissors and cleanly sliced her hair off with one stroke.

“Kagome!” he said, astonished, as she began determinedly cutting her hair shorter, as short as his, short as a boy, and skillfully layering and styling it from back to front.

“What are you doing?!” he demanded, rushing forward and grabbing her. “Your hair! I-it was beautiful-” He stopped with a blush at his admittance. But for once, she ignored his uncharacteristic compliment.

“It’s just hair,” she told him through gritted teeth as she turned her head to the side to cut it more evenly. “I don’t give a crap. We’ll grow it back together.”

“You’re crazy.”

“That may be, but I think I’m looking pretty good with a homemade pixie cut.” She squinted at the mirror. It was so much lighter, and gave her the faint sense of freedom, the sharp air brushing against the back of her neck. “Should I cut my bangs any?”

“No!”

“Hmm…” He only watched, mostly open mouthed, as she continued to nonchalantly style her hair for another fifteen minutes before she was satisfied. She then swept the floor again, and announced she was going to change shirts to get rid of the excess hair. 

Having changed fully into her pajamas in the bathroom, she came out and sat by him again on the bed. Inuyasha was watching her steadily in wonderment, and she felt rather warm under his gaze. Eventually, she said, “You never explained why you’re human now, Inuyasha.”

His gaze turned to her closed and snowy window. “It’s part of being half demon. I turn half human once a month. All hanyo’s do, on different days. My day is the New Moon. I l-lose… everything. My hearing, my sight, my smell… When I was little, i-it was terrifying to be alone in the woods and not know… I just… I hate the New Moon. I hate being human. It’s like every stupid emotion I have gets magnified times fifty and they all come out of my mouth and…”

He lapsed into silence, at which she curled an arm around him.  He’d fought so severely with Sesshomaru tonight… Kagome suspected the words lashed out then were bothering him even more than Naraku’s escape. She said gently, “Inuyasha… it’ll be okay. It isn’t now, but it will be. You know I’ll always accept and listen to you. Your emotions aren’t stupid.”

For a moment, nothing. Then he was suddenly wrapping her in a hug, burying his face into her neck and breathing out with a shudder in his chest. As if he’d been holding back for so long and now he had to cling to her for comfort. He grabbed her so hard that they fell back, a tangled mess onto her mattress where they stayed, intertwined and quiet. She tried not to stiffen in surprise, but hold him to her. Inuyasha stayed curled up against her, face against her heart and arms around her hips. She only pushed her fingers through his silky, shortened hair, held him, breathed so that his breathing, once quick and struggling, soon matched hers.

“You smell kinda nice,” he muttered dazedly at one point.

She hoped he didn’t hear her heart rate increase. “Really? You’re usually talking about how you hate my smell. Fear and all.”

His shoulders moved once in a weak shrug. “I lied.”

And from his breathing, in the next minute of her eyes wide and heart impossibly fast, she knew he’d started to fall asleep. But his eyes kept twitching as if wincing in thoughts that plagued his mind.

Kagome knew no Japanese lullabies that wouldn’t have lyrics that fit any other but a mother and child, so she began to quietly sing an American song she’d heard.

“ _ Goodnight, my angel _

_ Time to close your eyes _

_ And save these questions for another day _

_ I think I know what you've been asking me _

_ I think you know what I've been trying to say _

_ I promised I would never leave you _

_ And you should always know _

_ Wherever you may go _

_ No matter where you are _

_ I never will be far away.” _

His face was soft, peaceful as a child. He smelled of leather, clouds, somehow a distinct male scent. A wave of calmness washed over her, and something gave her the contented notion that this was exactly where she was supposed to be. Resting her hand on his arm, she hesitantly laid a kiss on his head. The last sounds she heard was the melody of her own voice to the rhythm of his breathing…

_ “...and like a boat out on the ocean _

_ I'm rocking you to sleep _

_ The water's dark _

_ And deep inside this ancient heart _

_ You'll always be a part of me _

 

_...someday we'll all be gone _

_ But lullabyes go on and on... _

_ They never die _

_ That's how you _

_ And I _

_ Will be.” _

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

Within the next two months, Inuyasha had grown to an almost delusional level of paranoia from Naraku’s threats.

For one, he walked each of the Inugami home now (scandalizing Shippo’s foster parents with his barging in and starting a rather heated argument with Sango’s father), checking all of their houses for Spiders, and personally installing locks on windows that had none. (Including Miroku’s fortress of a Buddhist monastery. Honestly, an army couldn't break through that thing.)

What was more, Inuyasha would not let her out of his sight. In the hallway of school, he was no more than an inch away at all times, often putting his arm around her and snarling at any Spider that came close. He walked her home or to work as always, but at her restaurant shifts, he would stay at the counter, order some food, and finish his homework while she worked. He’d then take her to his house to train, or straight to her house, where he’d bid goodbye to her family, pretend to leave, and then crawl up to sleep on the small balcony outside her window. Kagome had insisted that this was extremely unnecessary, but he’d not listened to a word. 

An entirely new problem had arisen as well, and it left Kagome especially bewildered and disoriented. For a while, she figured she was going crazy, and finally broke down to Sango during study hall.

“Something is wrong with me,” Kagome had groaned, dropping her head into her homework. “I keep seeing pink, glowing light and feeling this sixth sort of sense when some Spiders walk by. Am I finally losing it?”

Sango, much to her relief, didn’t freak out and took her seriously, only bearing a light frown. “Well, I remember Naraku saying you had some sort of spiritual powers, and you did breathe in some Jewel. While it didn’t have the addictive and usual effects… maybe you can sense it now? Because if it’s only some Spiders you get the feeling from, perhaps it’s because they carry Shikon Jewel-a drug with demon energies. If you had spiritual Shinto powers, you could likely sense youkai energy after being exposed to it.”

“This is sounding extremely Blue Exorcist slash Noragami-ish.”

“Anime has nothing to do with it. Maybe you should make Inuyasha dig through the pockets of the next person you see with the pink light?”

Though the idea sounded barbaric, she’d asked him to do so later, and found a small package of drugs in the gang member’s inside pocket. According to Inuyasha, this ability apparently made her “a little Jewel detector,” and he’d added asking her which Spiders to raid to their daily paranoia routine.

This had been his routine ever since they woke up the day after the first fight against Naraku. She remembered, with great warmth in her chest every time, how she’d woken up to his hands squeezing her shoulders, voice deep and husky with sleep. “Wake up, Kagome. I hear your mom making breakfast.”

At this she’d only snuggled into him more and made an incoherent response; during the night, somehow he’d shifted to hold her to his chest rather than the other way around, as they’d began. 

“I have to leave,” he went on, whispering.

“Why?” she’d grumbled, unwilling to lose her heated pillow.

“Do you want your  _ mom _ to find me here? Just because we’re not… like  _ that _ ...” she could almost hear his blush. “Doesn’t mean even a mom as chill as yours won’t jump to the worst conclusion, or be cool with a guy in their daughter’s bed.”

She’d winced. “Kay.”

“Just wanted to let you know… you know. Didn’t wanna be that jerk who leaves and doesn’t say anything. Em. I mean. If that matters to you or…”

Finally, she’d cracked her eyes open, and found a smile at his nervous expression. His white hair and ears had returned. She’d found satisfaction in how the haircut looked equally as good with his black hair and human ears as it did now. “It does. Thank you for waking me. That was thoughtful of you.”

His ‘keh’ had sounded more like watery ‘kuh’. “See you later, Kagome. I’ll stop by the restaurant later… if you’ll be there.”

“Yeah, I will.”

“Be careful.”

“I will.”

“Keep watching your back, and remember the maneuvers for escaping grip-”

“Yes, Inuyasha.”

“And one hit to the throat can really just bring one crashing down.”

“I know.”

“They just took some more Jewel, so they’ll be stronger and you need to be super careful--just run if you can-”

“ _ Inuyasha _ ,” she’d sighed in exasperation. “I know, okay? It’s about time you went home and tried to make nice with your brother.”

“More like join in the ritual of pretending each other doesn’t exist,” Inuyasha had muttered. “Yeah, okay. And… thanks. For… you know.”

“Yeah, I do.”

From then on, she could tell he’d afterwards felt very embarrassed about all the emotion he’d revealed on that night. She never brought it up to him again, knowing about his fragile human state, and honestly… she didn’t think of him as weaker because of it or something. It had been strange; while knowing how he feels was a bit easier, it had also been… not him. As a half demon, perhaps he was more closed off, and she had to be patient with what he was willing to tell. But that was just how Inuyasha was, and she loved him for it. 

They’d also not spoken of that one ‘yeah I almost kissed you’ time. Kagome didn’t know how she felt about that. It would be awkward to talk about, but part of her… really needed to know why the hell he’d been about to kiss her. Or these confusing notions swirling in her hormonal, dumb teenage mind could get far too imaginative. And she really couldn’t afford to get hormonally imaginative about Inuyasha, her best guy friend that she spent most of every day with.

Yes, she told herself she couldn’t afford to. Especially at times like this, when the restaurant was practically empty for the night, Inuyasha was gently frowning and looking down at his English homework, and Kagome couldn’t help but find herself watching the twitch of his ears, the thoughts swirling behind golden eyes, large, scarred hands twirling a pencil. She’d finally admitted to herself that he was attractive… hella attractive… Okay, that she was attracted to him… hella attracted-but that meant nothing! She was a teenage girl that was allowed to have hormones that were separate from her romantic desires.

Without completely thinking about it, Kagome picked up a few homemade, chocolate chip cookies, poured some milk, and put them in front of Inuyasha. He blinked a few times, and then shot a timid smile. “Thanks, Kagome.”

“No problem.” Stifling a yawn, she moved to grab a broom when Inuyasha caught her wrist.

“Hey,” he said, and his voice was softer than usual, like it was every time she got him alone. “You’re looking pretty tired. You don’t wanna be all worn out before our training tonight. Gimme the apron and broom and siddown for a while.”

“N-nah, I’m okay…”

“It wasn’t a question.” Before she could protest, he snatched away her broom and made his way around the counter while putting in his demon-hearing specialized earbuds for music while he worked. Knowing he couldn't be swayed, she gave him her apron with a sigh and headed to the kitchen to pick up her backpack; she’d been avoiding her English and math homework, and she wanted it done to have a free weekend.

Her mother was in the back, loading the dishwasher. “Hi, Mama. Need help?” she asked when she’d gathered her things. 

“No, I’m fine here, sweetie.” Her mother closed the washer and began the next load. Kagome leaned up against the sink beside her. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to make Inuyasha all  _ salty _ by making you work more.” Her mother gave a wink.

Kagome looked away. “Oh, don’t worry about him. He can’t go getting whatever he wants by throwing little tantrums.”

“I suppose. And I doubt I could get him angry like that other boy, Koga.”

Reminded, Kagome gave a grimace. “Ugh, I don’t get why those two can’t just get along. They could be friends if they tried!”

At this, her mother let out a laugh. “Oh sweetheart, really? You don’t know why they don’t get along?”

Letting out a huff, she offered a weak shrug. “Well, I guess they’re both kinda like alpha males. That’s probably it.”

“Perhaps a little,” her mother admitted. “But the main reason is so simple. Inuyasha is jealous, of course. He’s that type of boy.”

“Jealous?” Kagome frowned. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Inuyasha is easily as powerful as Koga, even if he’s only half. Inuyasha’s father was a king among demons, so the half doesn’t really matter… I guess he could be angry about Koga calling him a ‘mutt’ or ‘halfbreed’ all the time.”

“Not jealous about power,” her mother scoffed. “About you.”

Kagome blinked, and then shakily pointed to herself. “M-me? What does it have to do with…me?”

“Considering how Koga asked to marry you,” her mother giggled, “I assume he rather fancies you.”

Kagome flushed. “W-well that may be, but he’s not really my type.”

“I can see that. But Inuyasha still doesn’t like competition for you. He reacts most violently when it seems as if Koga is threatening to take you away for his own. It’s a simple concept.”

Comprehension dawned on her:  _ Mother thinks Inuyasha is  _ into me.

“Whoa, whoa!” Kagome squeaked, waving her hands frantically. “No, it’s not like… no! Trust me, there’s no chance he actually… he’s in love with his ex-girlfriend! It’s nothing like that!”

As she said it, the ugly little monster that had been growing around her heart decided to speak up.  _ It’s true. He could never care about you as he cares for her. He’s going to ditch you as soon as he gets Kikyo back. He won’t need you as a friend anymore, or anything else you truly desire to be with him. Why waste his time with you when he could have her? She’s more beautiful, desirable- _

Her mother’s teasing voice brought her back to reality. “Well, I certainly don’t see him devotedly protecting her, taking care of her, spending all his time with her-”

“That’s because she’s trapped in a bad situation and he can only help from the sidelines! I’m trying to help him… get her back…” she trailed off, the nausea swirling in the pit of her stomach. Right. She’d help him get Kikyo back… and then Inuyasha would have no more use for her.

_ That’s right _ , the monster encouraged.  _ Wouldn’t it just be easier if Kikyo wasn’t in the picture? She doesn’t deserve his love anyway- _

Kagome put a halt to her mind right there.  _ I can’t believe I thought something like that! I’m the terrible, undeserving one, for thinking such horrible things! _

“-gome? Kagome, are you alright, dear?”

Slowly, she nodded.

The world seemed to right itself as her mother wrapped her in a hug. “I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t mean to upset you. I remember how hard it is to be in love.”

“M-me? In… huh?”

“Well, do you deny that you’re in love with him? Inuyasha?”

Her face felt especially hot at the mere idea that she was discussing this with her mother. She opened her mouth to outright deny such a silly notion, but found that words would not come out. Why wouldn’t they? It was a simple thing to say.  _ I’m not in love with him. _

Yet, thinking such a thing only sounded like someone hiding on a cloudless, summer day, covering their eyes and screaming that the sun didn’t exist.

So instead, her heart clenched, she looked down, and remained silent.

Mother may have said something, but Kagome was too consumed in her mind that was overwhelmed with a tsunami of acceptance. She had always been open to love, but perhaps her subconscious had been protecting her in denial, because…

Loving him would be internal suicide.

Yet, now it was flooding her, all the pent up longing and joy that splintered her bones. Flashes of his smile, laugh, the safety of his arms, the admittance that she never wanted to wake up and see another on the other side of the bed-

“I’m screwed,” she sighed to her mother.

“I don’t think so,” her mother said, kissing the top of her head and giving a last smile. With a dizzy head and a groan, she swung her backpack over her shoulder and gloomily slumping back. She was hit with it all again when she saw him, white bangs held back by his red bandana that had been made into a sweatband. Inuyasha was leaning down, focused on getting every last crumb into the dustpan. Trying to push her rising emotions downward, Kagome took a determined seat in his vacated spot, where she took out her worksheet. 

Indeed, frustration took place of her uncertainty and internal shrieks; everyone else in class had gotten the assignment done within the class, but Kagome had needed to look several words up in her dictionary app. She was perfectly fluent in modern English, but this old English stuff was absolute gibberish, especially when put into a poem and asked to be interpreted.

Muttering words under her breath that too much time around Inuyasha had taught her, she pulled up google translate… “What the world is Eeahmbeek pentahmeeter?”

Inuyasha looked up at her and set his broom aside. “What?”

“Exactly! What! What? What is this?!”

“Chill out, spaz,” he told her, walking around the counter to stand behind her. “What’s the problem?”

“Shakespeare is the problem, Inuyasha. I speak English, but not… this!”

Squinting at the paper, instead of laughing at her, he frowned in something that looked almost close to sympathy. “Oh, yeah. I remember being totally confused when I was learning English. It took a cram crash death threat course from Sesshomarpoo for me to get this stuff… want help?”

She blinked up at him. “Oh. Sure, I guess…”

“Here, this is pronounced ‘iambic pentameter,’” he told her patiently, pointing at the two words in the instructions she’d scribbled down in her notebook above her assigned poem. “It’s the type of rhythm of a sonnet, which is the name of this kind of poem. A line goes like ‘ba-BOOM, ba-BOOM, ba-BOOM, ba-BOOM.’ Like a heartbeat. The structure, like the teacher was asking about here, is fourteen lines, four stanzas. This one has two quatrains, or groupings of four, and two triplets, which are groups of three lines. Sometimes they have different amounts in the stanzas. Like, in his eighteenth, it has three quatrains and one double at the bottom. The  _ So long as men can breathe and eyes can see, so long lives this, and this gives life to thee _ .”

“Oh,” she said quietly, impressed with his memory over such things that she didn’t think he’d care about. “Thank you… so I guess I’m also confused on some of these words and references… what is a…” She squinted at the page. “Plaeets? Leerey? And Orpheus? Encompass? Ecstasy?”

“Firstly, it’s called a  _ lyre _ .” She shot him a glare at his exasperated tone, but he ignored her.  _ Why did I have to fall in love with such an asshole?  _ “It’s an instrument, like those little harps you see cherubs carry in paintings.  _ Plaits _ are braids. Orpheus is a character in Greek mythology that played such beautiful music that it opened the gates of the underworld itself to try to bring his wife back to life. Encompass basically means to contain, or encircle. Ecstasy is a really intense, good feeling, and also a name of a drug, so if someone asks if you want some, you should say no despite the first definition.”

The weight of all the homework confusion lifted from her shoulders. “I see. Thank you very much, Inuyasha. It’s sweet of you to explain. You sure know a lot about literature, for a half-demon hoodlum.”

“W-well don’t go gettin’ used to it.” Oh, it was  _ so _ easy to make him blush. “An’ I’m not a hoodlum! For your info, spaz, I’m very  _ cultured _ .”

“Well, if you’re so cultured, maybe you could show me what this iambic pentameter means?”

Eyes alit with the challenge, he swept up the paper. “Listen close to the rhythm, padawan. I’m gonna show you how a badass reads Shakespeare.” He cleared his throat and read out in a flowing, mesmerizing voice,

 

_ “If I should think of love, I’d think of you _

_ If I should think of love _

_ I’d think of you, your arms uplifted, _

_ Tying your hair in plaits above, _

 

_ The lyre shape of your arms and shoulders, _

_ The soft curve of your winding head. _

_ No melody is sweeter, nor could Orpheus _

_ So have bewitched. I think of this, _

 

_ And all my universe becomes perfection. _

_ But were you in my arms, dear love, _

_ The happiness would take my breath away, _

 

_ No thought could match that ecstasy, _

_ No song encompass it, no other worlds. _

_ If I should think of love, I’d think of you.” _

 

He ended in a ringing silence where she stared at him without any air entering or exiting for much longer than was healthy. Yes, she understood iambic pentameter now. How the words moved like waves, and when read by someone you were in love with, they washed into you, cleaning out any thought that could be bad and wrapping around you-

“Kagome? You with me, dorkface?”

Shaking her head so that her short hair fell into her eyes annoyingly, she coughed. “Y-yes! Yes, thank you. I understand now.”

“Good. ‘Cause if you tell anyone else in the universe that I read that cheesy-ass poem, I will piss on your shoujo manga collection that you didn’t think I knew about.”

“Creative as ever, Inuyasha. I won’t tell.”

After giving (or an attempt of) a stern nod, he returned to sweeping with intense concentration.

Some silver hair fell into his face, and she thought dreamily of tucking it back and kissing those golden eyes closed.

_ Damn, _ she thought with a sigh.  _ So, so screwed. _

Once she’d finished her homework, her mother released her to her defense lesson with Inuyasha for the night. The ride was peaceful and warm as ever, easier now that neither of them had to tie hair up. It still brushed across her cheeks like feathers.

Once they were in the little gym in his house, he told her as she began her stretches, “I’d like a shower from when that soup got dumped on me earlier. Would you mind waiting for a bit?”

“Go ahead,” she told him gently. At least he was asking, this time. “I’ll do some warm ups.”

“Good idea. I’ll be out soon.”

The door closed behind him, and she ventured to the punching bag where she began to wrap her wrists and hands with fabric. Inuyasha insisted it was essential: “ _ If you don’t have that on, you’ll bust your knuckles and hurt your wrists with the impact. Wraps or nothing at all. _ ”

She’d only run through one sequence of hits that he’d taught her before the door eased open and she turned to see Sesshomaru enter. Kagome raised her eyebrows in surprise, but merely offered him a wave and a “Good evening, Sesshomaru-sama.” He’d always subtly seemed to appreciate the ‘sama’, and it was essential to stay on that guy’s good side.

He offered a nod. “Higurashi-san.” Then, he eyed her fists and bag, the area around her. “I admit, I’ve become… curious, as to Inuyasha’s teaching methods. I haven’t heard any gun firing in our small range.”

Eyes narrowing in confusion, she stammered, “W-well of course not! That would be illegal, and… firing range? Wouldn’t that scare the rest of the building, on top of being illegal?”

“Certainly it’s illegal,” the chief of police said, waving an airy hand. “I’ve lived far too long to agree to not be able to practice with weapons in my own home. This room is extremely soundproof. Only a demon could truly hear anything happening, and everyone in this building is a human.”

“O-oh. Okay. Um, well I don’t want to do anything illegal-”

“If you’re joining the fight to end Naraku’s reign, then by simple logic, you will need to learn how to shoot a gun if you’re even going to be slightly useful,” Sesshomaru cut her off. “My brother not teaching you is unacceptable.”

“Uh.” Kagome scratched the back of her head. “Won’t you… arrest me?”

“Certainly not, foolish human,” he snapped, striding forward. “I’m the one suggesting it, am I not? And no one would believe you if you told them anyway, so I am unconcerned as to my own reputation. Now get to that midpoint so that you don’t shoot my stupid brother when he returns and prepare a firm stance.”

She gave the argument a last try, though she hurried to the center line like he asked. Usually, she’d put up more of a fight, but this was Sesshomaru, and she’d be a liar if she didn’t say he was terrifying. “Sesshomaru-sama, I r-really don’t think… Inuyasha told me he didn’t want me learning. He’s taught me a lot with hand to hand and other weapons, and he protects me well when I can’t do it myself.”

“Clearly he does not think you are capable of taking care of yourself. I simply think you must be forced to learn even if that is the case-”

“H-he knows I can! That’s not his point; he’s not being disrespectful-”

“Stand firm and take this.”

Knowing now that it was unavoidable, Kagome sighed and took the foam ear plugs and police handgun that he was holding out. It was heavy, dark, smelled like it had been freshly oiled. 

“Hold it up towards those targets, straight. Are you right handed?” His voice was muffled from her plugs, but still easily understandable.

“Yes.”

“Then bend your left arm slightly so that you can take the recoil.” He stood to her right, not close and hands clasped behind him. “Put your left hand on the bottom to hold it up and straight. Yes, like that. Now keep that hand away from the top back; it’ll spring backwards and hit you.”

“Okay… like this?”

“Yes. Now widen your feet and prepare for the gun to recoil up and backward. Line up the center of the target with the notch in the back of the gun and the sight in the end of the barrel. It should be centered and flush with the top of the notch in your perspective, and that pointing at where you want to shoot. Do you understand?”

She gulped, and lined up the sights as he’d instructed. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now pull the trigger.”

She breathed in, and as she breathed out, she squeezed.

Kagome squeaked as the shot sounded and the gun jumped up and back. The bullet tore through the outside of the second circle. She didn’t know how she felt about it… part of her was afraid that she could create such an effect. Another part felt empowered. She peered up at Sesshomaru, who gave a nod. “That wasn’t terrible.”

Well, that was about as close to a compliment that he would ever give. “Um, thanks.”

“Try again.”

She did. And he’d told her to try until she could get that black bullseye three times in a row. Eventually, she lowered her shaking arms for a break, at which point she asked hesitantly, “Sesshomaru-sama? May I ask you something?”

His eyes were dull. “Can I stop you?”

Sighing, she continued anyway. “Why do you act like you hate Inuyasha so much?”

Kagome didn’t really expect an answer, but as she raised the gun again to try another shot, he told her, “Because I hate him.”

_ Bang _ . She scoffed. “No, you don’t. If you did, you wouldn’t have offered him a home. You wouldn’t have shown interest in his life and friends. You wouldn’t have come to save him on the New Moon. You wouldn’t have gotten mad at him for not contacting you when he was going after Naraku, because you would’ve been satisfied with getting a shot in at the end. You wouldn’t be teaching me this, because you and I both know you only want me to learn so that I can protect him if I need to and you’re not there.”

His golden eyes flashed, outlined by the shocking magenta, and she wondered in fright for a moment if she’d gone too far. But after a weighted silence, he muttered, “I never would have thought my brother could be interested in such a nosy and perceptive woman.”

“Hey!” she protested, but he seemed most indifferent to her indignancy. 

“What is my relationship with my brother to you, human girl?” Oh dear, back to species instead of last name. 

“I think it upsets him,” Kagome said. “He seemed more depressed and angry about your argument than Naraku getting away, that night of the New Moon. I think… deep down, he’s always wanted your approval. For you to be proud of him and be his family.”

Sesshomaru’s nose wrinkled slightly. “I share no concern for familial bonds and other human emotions. I am a demon-”

“I think that the idea that humans and demons have different emotional capacities is, excuse me, complete bullshit,” Kagome told him simply. “It’s a stereotype that humans and demons have been taught since childhood, so that they feel they must live up to the standard of being more or less emotional. At first, I thought there must be a difference because Inuyasha seemed more vulnerable on his human nights. Then I realized I knew other demons that had emotions just as strong as any human…” 

Kagome gave a shrug, and shot the gun again before she went on, “I think all evidence points to Inuyasha being under a sort of placebo effect on New Moons. He thinks humans are more emotional, so that’s how he acts. He thinks demons are less, so when he’s back to half, he acts less emotional. If you think you’re supposed to be feeling a certain way, eventually you convince yourself that you are, right? I think you, Sesshomaru-sama, are under a lifelong placebo effect, a delusion that because you’re a demon, you can’t feel like we can and are therefore above our petty emotions.”

His eyebrows had grown rather high on his forehead. “You are philosophical, for a whelp. I’m afraid I disagree.”

“The truth doesn’t require you to agree,” Kagome said lightly. “Doesn’t stop it from being true. In any case, my point is, after living so long, it must get tiring to just go through life without companionship, just focusing on vengeance and different jobs. You have the chance to have family, but you’re throwing it all away for some meaningless pride. Towards the end of your life, you’re going to regret all the lost time you could have shown your brother you cared about him, and had a relationship with him. That kind of pride is only for people too afraid to open up and show vulnerability to the ones they care for. I don’t take you for a coward, Sesshomaru-sama. Even if you don’t give a damn about a simple human’s opinion, this dumb human has it all figured out, and she’s gonna tell it to you anyway; show you love him before it’s too late.”

_ Too bold! _ she scolded herself in fear as she swallowed.  _ Did you entirely forget who you were talking to?!  _

Indeed, his eyes were burning holes right through her, and Kagome realized that the last time she’d felt this terrified, she’d been under Naraku’s sword.

“I could break your neck,” Sesshomaru told her quietly in a way that made her shiver and take several steps away, “with the flick of a finger. You dare presume to tell me how to live?”

“Y-you won’t,” Kagome managed, trying to hold her chin high. “And I presume to merely advise, because Inuyasha deserves better, the family he always wanted.”

“If he wants a family,” Sesshomaru said stiffly, “human, and if you care for him enough to speak down to a pure-blooded demon from the line of the most powerful demon king, then why not bear him one yourself rather than lecturing me?”

She choked on air, and stood up straight with cheeks blazing. “ _ Excuse _ me?”

The doors flew open, and relief flooded through her at the sight of Inuyasha’s enraged face. His blazing eyes landed on the gun in her hand, and he stormed towards them. “Sesshomaru! What the  _ hell _ are you doing with my- with Kagome?”

“Teaching her what you should have a long time ago,” Sesshomaru said stiffly. He snatched the gun back from her hands. “I’d advise you in the future to also better teach your bitch to keep her mouth shut and nose out of others’ business.”

“What the fuck did you call her, you bastard?!”

“You’re the bastard.” And with a last look of malice, Sesshomaru swept through the doors and slammed them behind him.

“What an  _ asshat _ ,” Inuyasha snarled as Kagome regretfully removed her earplugs and tossed them over by her bag. She was surprised by Inuyasha grabbing her upper arms. Firm, but gentle at the same time. He was examining every inch of her anxiously. “Did he hurt you? What did he say to you? I heard shots… was he really making you…?”

“He didn’t hurt me,” sighed Kagome, hugging herself. “I mean, he did tell me he could snap my neck with a finger-”

“He WHAT-?!”

“I tried to talk to him about some stuff that he doesn’t want to talk about. He got mad. I’m fine. And yes, he taught me how to shoot.”

“That gives him no right to try to intimidate you! And I said I didn’t want you to have to a gun!”

“I’m fine, Inuyasha. A few harsh words isn’t about to scare me, and neither is learning to use a gun.” Going for her trump card, she reached out and took his hand. “Let’s drop it, okay?” 

He was just staring down at their hands.  _ The perfect distraction… and a definite bonus for me. So warm… _

Demonstrating impressive self restraint (for him), Inuyasha let out a shaky breath. “Fine. I’ll tear him up about it later. And I won’t leave you alone anymore, where he can mess with you. Let’s do a quick run.”

Kagome had improved exponentially in running since he’d paced her more reasonably, and luckily, today they didn’t go too long; just because she was better at it didn’t mean she liked it.

After more repetitive maneuvers, strength training, and practicing on the bags, Inuyasha finally wiped the sweat from his brow and told her, “Alright. Wanna try some sparring?”

The concept both excited her and was feared by her; she nodded anyway. They stood, face to face, on the mat, before he said, “Okay, you come at me first. Get some hits in.”

“You’re gonna annihilate me.”

“No shit! Now come at me, pipsqueak.”

Despite how Kagome knew he was hundreds of years (literally) out of her combat league, hearing him say that was sweet music; an actual invitation to attack him!

Kagome breathed out, and then ran, feinting a punch at his face before dropping low to trip. He ducked her fist and jumped with ease, sliding behind her, where she shoved her elbow. The damn boy always seemed to be able to slip away, and when he got bored of that, he’d simply block her attacks with a hand, keeping up with her like he could do it in his sleep.

It wasn’t long before she was completely wiped, at which she lowered her fists, groaned, and slumped to the floor. Kagome lay, spread eagle, on the mat, eyes closed and breaths heavy. 

Following her lead, Inuyasha flopped down opposite her, head right beside hers so that when she looked over, she could see his smirking face upside-down. 

Putting the back of her hand over her eyes, she panted, “Why do you have to be so good at this stuff?”

“Because I’ve had to fight people off from killing me since I was about eight,” Inuyasha said snidely. 

“So maybe it’s not because I’m a total failure?” Kagome tried hopefully, turning her face to him.

He copied her position, upside down amber eyes piercing through her. “Maybe.” When she pouted, he rolled his eyes. “Kagome, you’ve been training almost every day for over five months now. You’re  _ good _ .”

“Thanks,” she said, and surely the heat in her cheeks was from the exercise rather than the praise. “Only because I have a good teacher.”

Instead of using that comment to boost his ego further, Inuyasha was instead quiet for a moment before saying, “You really think so?”

“Think so what?”

“That I’m a good teacher.”

“Of course.” She folded her hands on her stomach. “You’ve gotten me this far without wanting to completely murder you, haven’t you? Why do you ask?”

“Well.” He hesitated, and then let words fall out, “I-I was thinking… I’ve never totally wanted to be anything… career wise. But… You know the college you’re going to?”

Kagome frowned. “Um, yeah. I kinda chose it because I know it.” She’d gotten accepted to a college not too far. Though she’d originally figured she wanted to be a nurse, lately, she’d come to enjoy-well, enjoy wasn’t quite the word, but feel fulfilled in-solving their mystery of Naraku’s crimes, and the defense training was thrilling… Kagome had written down that she would go for a criminal justice major. (She hadn’t told Inuyasha, wanting to avoid the accusations of how wanting to be a cop would make her in league with his brother. As if he didn’t know that Kagome didn’t really like Sesshomaru in the first place.)

For once, Inuyasha ignored her sarcasm. “Well, I didn’t say anything, but… I got accepted to the same school. And I was thinking about starting a business in teaching people defense.”

She sat up and gaped at him. “Inuyasha, that’s amazing! Congratulations! That’s a great idea! I think that’s perfect for you.”

His cheeks were pink. “Th-thanks. W-well… you’d be good at it too…” With a small huff, he sat up as well and looked away from her. Then he glanced back, and away again. Like a puppy that was not-so-subtly asking for food.

Narrowing her eyes, she tilted her head. “Are you… possibly asking me to be a business partner?”

“I didn’t say that,” he scoffed.

“Didn’t deny it, either.”

“And you didn’t answer, either.”

Kagome felt her eyes grow hazy as she set her face in her hands. “You know… wouldn’t it be cool if all of us opened a dojo sort of place? Miroku and Sango are good at fighting too, and Shippo is learning… we could call the company The Inugami.”

For a moment, his eyes brightened. “That’s… a good idea, actually.”

“We could even have it in Chicago--I’m sure many people here want to learn how to protect themselves.”

“Yeah! And we can have classes for different martial arts…”

“And basic self defense, maybe run some weapons-handling classes…”

The night spiralled away into wakeful dreaming.

 


	8. Chapter 8

“There’s a thing.”

The rest of the Inugami paused in chewing during their lunchtime to regard Inuyasha with an exasperated stare.

Miroku swallowed. “How fascinating. Would you care to enlighten us about a thing?”

Gritting his teeth, Inuyasha grounded out, “A masquerade night this Friday at that nightclub, Gehenna. It’s a known peaceful ground for Spiders and Wolves. They both go there.”

“Good for them,” Sango said dully.

After dealing out a scowl, Inuyasha said, “Well, stay home if you want. Kagome and I are going.”

Kagome choked on her water. “S-since  _ when?! _ ”

“Since I feel like it. What, you don’t wanna go?”

“N-no, I do, but-”

“Okay. Then stop blabberin’.”

Her heart sped to impossible rates and she stared off into the skyline while Inuyasha continued to eat nonchalantly. The others gaped, and Kagome wondered, thinking she might pass out in shock and sheer joy, if this was his way of maybe  _ asking her out _ .

* * *

Kagome took a shuddering breath out and smoothed her red, skater dress for the fiftieth time. Her wide eyes continued to regard her reflection in the mirror. Her red and white bandana circled her throat, white combat boots encased her ankles. A sparkling, snow-colored masquerade mask adorned her face, edges sweeping up like angel wings. “You’re sure this is okay, Sango?”

“Kags,” Sango said for also the fiftieth time in the bathroom, shooting a glance from where she was applying red to her eyes instead of her usual pink. “You look awesome. You’re a hot, cute badass dressed to kill a man. The outfit is fine.”

“Okay,” she muttered. “Okay.” She’d managed to tame her wild bangs slightly, so that she was managing to pull off the ‘shaggy pixie cut’ look. “I can do this. I’m a hot, cute badass dressed to kill a man.”

“Atta girl.” Sango’s hair was curled and hanging down her back. She was in a red, sleeveless top and white skinny jeans with red boots that reached just under her knees. Her red and silver mask curled across and down the left side of her face to her jawline. As always, she looked absolutely gorgeous. “C’mon, the boys will be here soon.”

Of course, Miroku had asked Sango to come to the club immediately after Inuyasha had. (Kagome almost wished that Shippo was coming too, because the little fox boy would relieve her nerves, but he was too young to get in the club.) Neither Kagome or Sango actually knew if those two were actually dating… what with that random battle kiss and stuff. They’d certainly been more flirtatious, and he hadn’t chased other girls since. Sango didn’t seem to require any sort of absolution, though.

“Plenty of time to figure it out,” Sango had told her simply when Kagome asked. “I guess we’re both more focused on getting Naraku now, getting my brother back. After that, we’ll have time for all that stuff.”

But Kagome could tell Sango was excited that he’d asked her to go. She wasn’t worried about whether it counted as a date or simply an outing with friends.

Kagome, on the other hand…

“Is this a date?” she said in anxiety. “It kind of feels like a date. A double one. Does that mean he likes me? Or he still loves Kikyo and just wants to hang out for some weird reason? Since when does he like this kind of stuff? I mean, I like dancing, but-”

“Well, Inuyasha knows that.” Sango had a sweet, half smile. “Maybe he’s counting on having a good time just because you’ll be happy.”

Kagome’s face matched her dress. “B-but… does this mean he…?”

“Honestly Kags, are you blind? He’s crazy about you. Who would want the ice queen when they could have you?” Sango hugged her tightly. “Stop worrying so much! Just have fun, okay?”

Now, she couldn’t stop the grin from taking over her face. “O-okay. Thanks, Sango.”

Sure enough, the boys showed up at Kagome’s doorstep within the next five minutes, Miroku in white t-shirt that matched his simple, white mask, and crimson skinny jeans for once (which should have looked hipster, but Kagome thought in a completely platonic way that it was plenty attractive on him). Inuyasha was in his white washed jeans and jacket as always, but it still made her breath catch. His golden eyes and silver hair stood out even more shockingly with the complement of his blood-red mask.

“Well, you two both look simply stunning,” Miroku purred smoothly. “Not that I’m surprised.” He kissed Sango’s hand, then tucked it under his elbow. “Shall we?”

Inuyasha blinked at her a few times, and Kagome admitted to being slightly disappointed when all he did was gulp and jerk his head towards Miroku’s SUV. But then again, she figured she really shouldn’t have expected him to compliment her or something.

The car ride was filled with their usual banter, debating on how, if Inuyasha existed, surely unicorns did as well. After twenty minutes, they’d arrived, being helped out of the car. The club’s name glowed in green lights,  _ Gehenna _ , over the entrance that was swarming with excited teenagers that had their identities sealed with a mask. Fog drifted from within, capturing the colors of the flashing lights. All but normal citizens were wearing black and purple or blue and silver. The red and white of the four of them stood out as they strode forward together, causing the crowd to part and mutter in their wake, “ _ Inugami _ …”

It was Inuyasha who dished out some cash and IDs to get in, and she was surprised at how quickly they entered. Had he come here before?

The four of them pushed through the mass of people until they made it to an opening towards the side. From there, Miroku snatched up Sango’s hand and dragged her, laughing, to the dance floor. Kagome watched them with a wide smile, their happiness infectious. She turned to Inuyasha, a bit shyly, wondering if he could possibly do the same-

“Okay, we’re in,” he said, giving a triumphant grin. “Let’s do this! Faithful Jewel detector, you walk around and scan for Shikon so that no one else gets addicted. I’ll carry out part two… Kikyo is here tonight; I heard them talking about it at school. It’s the perfect chance to corner her and make her talk to me. Holler if you find something; I’ll be able to hear you!”

And he was gone. 

For several, long seconds, Kagome just stared straight ahead. Unconsciously, her arms came up to wrap around herself with a suffocating tightness. 

Of course. 

Of  _ course _ .

“I’m stupid,” she said aloud to no one, weak voice drowned out by the pumping bass. 

Feeling rather as if someone had kicked her in the gut, she numbly began to walk forward. After all, searching the place for Shikon was the smart route. Their hunt for Naraku took priority over all. And their goal to get Kikyo safely back into the arms of Inuyasha. No time for fun or Kagome’s ridiculous, schoolgirl daydreams that he could ever actually want her.

Her eyes dully swept the place from behind her mask, but she honestly wasn’t sure what to expect; if this was peaceful ground between the two gangs to have fun, then surely the Spiders wouldn’t want to risk getting caught addicting others or carrying something illegal? Likely, many of them took some Shikon before they came, but didn’t bring extra…

Sure enough, all she saw were a few faint glows--how it appeared when it had already been ingested, smoked, or snorted. She felt no tugs on her gut other than her own stupid heart ache, saw no pink light other than the ones flashing with the beat that she now only wanted to escape. 

With a heavy sigh through her nose, she made her way to the upper level, which wrapped around the club so that you could see into the lower level through the middle. It was near deserted, maybe an employee’s only area. Kagome couldn’t bring herself to care.

Once she’d scanned there too and from above, she found a small window seat, where she settled with her legs off to the side. It was a full moon tonight, casting silver down on her skin so that it reminded her of him.

Everything seemed to.

“-can’t avoid me forever, Kikyo.”

Kagome stiffened at the sound of Inuyasha’s voice, footsteps accompanied by smaller ones close by. She knew this window seat sat close to a corner that led to a hall… he wouldn’t be able to see her from here. 

She also knew she shouldn’t eavesdrop. But…

“I know. Once you set your mind to something, you were never able to let go,” Kikyo mused. “Very well. I’ve wanted to talk to you too.”

“You… you have?”

“Of course. But you know the hold Naraku keeps on me. He has eyes all over the school. And… I was afraid that perhaps… you’d grown to hate me…”

“Why would you think that?” he answered aghast.

Kikyo was quiet. “Well, I’m an addict now. I thought maybe you’d be disgusted with me, decide you no longer want-”

“Don’t be an idiot!” Inuyasha all but shouted back. “I could never be disgusted with you… This isn’t your fault! Thinking I hate you… don’t you understand? There hasn’t been a day where I haven’t thought of you!”

Kagome forgot how to breathe. 

“Inuyasha…” Kikyo sounded gentle. “Truly?”

“Truly. I’ll always protect you, the best I can. And to do that, I’m going to need to know a few things. Like how Naraku got a hold of you a year or two ago!”

There was a pause, and then, “I went to him.”

“You wha-?!”

“I heard he was an expert in demon energies. It was foolish of me not to learn more about him first, but I was determined to find a way…”  
“A way…?” Inuyasha prompted.

“A way to make you human. So that we could be together.”

Kagome’s mouth dropped open; she didn’t understand. Why… why would Kikyo want that? Why couldn't they be together the way he was? Kagome had never thought he would need to be human for any reason…

“O-oh,” was his response. “Really?”

“I did it for you,” she told him, which made Kagome want to barf. “And there still may be a way. Don’t you want to be together?”

“W-well I…” he trailed off, voice edging in uncertainty. And then he said nothing.

“Inuyasha?” Kikyo’s voice took a new tone. “It isn’t… that girl, is it?”

“G-girl? You mean Kagome? What about her?”

Part of her really wished she hadn’t been dragged into this nauseating conversation.

“You care about her more than me?” Kagome’s eyes narrowed. Since when was Kikyo the whining, jealous type?

“Wh-what does this have to do with-?”

He was cut off by something, and her eyes widened with realization. Feeling a cloud of dread over her heart, she slowly peeked around the corner and-

Holy shit. Kikyo was kissing him.

The girl was gripping his jacket, eyes closed gently. His own were round and bright in shock, but it only took a moment before he relaxed more--tentatively putting a hand around her waist, tilting his head, closing his eyes…

Kissing her back.

Kagome felt bile rise in her throat, and quickly turned around the corner.

Nope.

Nope. Nope. Nope.

Somewhere deep in her chest, pain was twisting. Unwilling to make it worse, she made her way to the stairs and hurried down; she needed some air.

Finally managing to push past the mass of moving bodies, and caught sight of Sango and Miroku. Maybe she could put on a brave face, march over, and dance despite whatever was going on upstairs. But Sango...she was laughing, arms around his neck, and his hands weren’t anywhere inappropriate whatsoever. Miroku’s dark eyes shone locked on Sango only as he spun her around. No… she couldn’t ruin this for them, and dancing by herself didn’t sound too appealing, for once. Losing her nerve, she she stumbled to the back door and pushed it open with a breath out. Kagome let it shut behind her after finding a rock to prop it slightly open.

She leaned up against the brick wall of the back alley, tore off her mask so that it clattered to the moist ground, shakily pushed her hair back from her face and gripped it.

Her mind kept flashing back; the words in the hall, the kiss, his determined expression as he left her alone. Kagome drank in the city air--wet, smokey, despairing. 

She should have known. She absolutely should have known that this was just another part of their mission. She was here to be the “faithful Jewel detector”, as always.

It was a little cold out; Kagome gave a little shiver and rubbed her arms. But the wind wasn’t as cold as the turmoil twisting across her mind. Yes, it was so much colder when she realized that… even though she’d been so excited to come… she was the only person in the place that wasn’t wanted here. 

The thought gave her a wry, snorting laugh. Figures.

_ Honestly Kags, are you blind? He’s crazy about you. Who would want the ice queen when they could have you? _

Why had she believed Sango, who was only trying to be nice and not hurt her feelings? Maybe the blind one was simply Sango, and Kagome had seen the truth all along.

Kikyo had looked so perfect, black dress casting an alluring and delicate spell. Kagome didn’t want to look at herself for a while; she knew all she would do was compare, and that comparison would never measure up.

Kagome didn’t want to be that weak, extra girl whose mood was directed by things one boy did or did not do.

But now, on her own, with only the maddeningly silver moon as witness, she let herself slide down the wall. Maybe Kagome could let herself be that girl for a few minutes. Maybe because he wasn’t just a boy. Maybe he was her best friend, the one she was so ridiculously in love with and didn’t want to spend a day in her life without.

The thought made her choke and lower her head to stare at her boots. 

“Why do you keep doing this?” she muttered, talking only to herself. “Hoping for something stupid…”

“A valid question,” came a chilling voice, one that made her bolt up and scramble closer to the door. But it was too late; the rock holding it open was kicked away, and she was shrouded in shadow only lit by streetlight, moon, and glowing, scarlet eyes.

Fear lodged in her throat, and she froze. Kagome knew that there was no way she could outrun Naraku, and sometimes he could teleport, when he could manage to exhaust enough energy to do so. Inuyasha was up and away with Kikyo. He wouldn’t hear her when he was so…  _ busy _ .

No more safeties--she could take care of her damn self, and if Naraku was so anxious to be her venting punching bag, so be it.

Immediately, she dropped one arm to block and thrust the other up towards his nose, body shifting into battle mode from muscle memory. He dodged, grabbing her wrist, but she used the momentum to knee upward. Naraku dodged that too, but this gave her the chance to throw a left hook that caught his cheek with all her force. Twisting her arm from his grasp, Kagome gave a shout as she kicked his lowered face in the side. 

Normally, this would completely take out an opponent. Except Naraku was half demon, and the blows hardly seemed to faze him. Instead, he got back up, tentacles shooting out and wrapping around her body like a boa constrictor. His hand was over her mouth before she could even scream.

“Been training with Inuyasha, have you?” he purred. “Impressive. Lucky he taught you, before he left your silly little band for Kikyo.”

Kagome winced at the tightness of the tentacles, their slimy, gross feeling against her arms and legs, chest, that cut off her circulation. But he didn’t loosen; only roamed his eyes over her face hungrily. “My, you  _ do _ look so much like her…” Now, nothing was more horrifying than his leer. “Not quite as beautiful, of course, as you well know, and your eyes remain so much more… innocent. Perhaps when you’re a Spider, you’ll be her twin… after all, it isn’t as if Inuyasha is coming to save you. Just realized, haven’t you? That he could never see you when compared to her. But I…” 

Naraku stepped closer, and she stopped breathing as if it may lessen his overwhelming, disgusting presence. “Your spiritual power… I must know why you are immune. I can give you a place of importance, make you feel special. You won’t get that with the Inugami, what with Inuyasha using you as a Jewel detector and temporary Kikyo substitute. All that jealousy and bitterness you feel towards them? I can make that your greatest power. You won’t feel weak and useless anymore. I can help you destroy anyone who dares mistreat you. It’s what you want, after all-”

At this point, Kagome had finally had enough. She chomped down hard on Naraku’s hand covering her mouth, biting down until she tasted blood. He let out a shout, jerking his hand back. Taking advantage of his loosened tentacles and surprise, she leapt out from his grasp and punched him in the stomach. She knew the smart thing would be to run around and back into the club, but she was too angry…

“Where do you get off, telling me how I feel and what I want?” Kagome seethed, flipping out the switchblade that had been strapped under her dress. “Messing with people’s emotions to get what you want, trying to turn them against each other like a game… it’s sick! You sound pathetic doing it too, like a jealous teenage girl from a bad movie!”

He snarled, and she fended off a tentacle with her knife. Panting, she spat, “I’m nothing like  _ her _ ! I’m like me, Kagome, and I’m damn proud of it! So what if Inuyasha doesn’t love me the way I love him? I’m not doing this just for him! I hate you and your disgusting existence, hurting people, including the rest of my friends! I’ll never be one of your stupid followers! Because all this bitterness, jealously, it’s just my damn humanity, and in the end, all it means is that I’m in love with Inuyasha! So much so that it doesn’t matter if he feels the same or not, because I will stay with him. I’d certainly never leave his side for a lowly, pathetic bastard like you!” Her knife stabbed down into his next attack. “And for the record, I can take care of myself!”

Pink light exploded from the knife, causing Naraku to shriek and recoil. The light raced up his tentacle and to his body, where it spread white and brightness that made him cringe and cower. Kagome had no idea what she’d done to make it happen, but no time to think about it now; she ran at him and gave a roundhouse kick to the head. His tentacles were thrashing about now as if in pain, eyes were closed, and curses fell from his mouth in torrents. It gave her satisfaction, and yet a tentacle ended up smashing her in the side, sending her head smacking into the brick wall. Pain flashed black and white into her vision--the world became hazy. Her knees buckled, she fell-

Close by, there was a  _ bang _ , a shout of, “ _ Kagome! _ ” and strong arms catching her round the middle. She was pressed to someone’s shoulder, and she took in the comforting scent of leather.

“You son of a bitch!” Inuyasha roared, and footsteps followed him out the club door. “I’m gonna tear your throat out!” 

“You came…” she murmured dazily against his jacket.

“Of course I came,” he said, voice softening. “Miroku, protect her and get her out of here while I dice this guy.”

“Inuyasha,” Sango said, aghast, “ _ look! _ ”

The Inugami finally registered the fact that Naraku was in pain from the light. “He was struck with purification magic,” Miroku said in wonderment. “Kagome… you did this?”

“Dunno how,” she muttered back, words slurring. “Just… wanted him to be gone…”

But then, a pulse of blackness raced through the alley, and the light flickered mostly out. Naraku looked to them, tears of blood staining his face. He advanced on them. “It will take more than a beginner’s attempt at purification power to destroy me. And you will become a Spider, little miko, one way or another…”

“LIKE HELL!” shouted Inuyasha. “ _ Iron reaver soul stealer! _ ” 

The claws of wind sliced through Naraku’s skin, sending him flying back--then he was gone, body fading into the dark with a last laugh.

“Fucking coward,” Inuyasha hissed, and then swept Kagome up with an arm under her shoulders and the other under her knees. “What did he do to you? Do you have a concussion? We should get her straight to the hospital!”

“She wouldn’t need one if you were with her!” Sango shouted at him suddenly. “What the hell is wrong with you?! We thought she was with you!”

“Why would you leave her alone in a crowd of Spiders?” Miroku added, apparently not trying to be a peacemaker this time. His voice was stern, almost scary. “It was only a matter of time before Naraku would snatch her up! You’re lucky her miko powers kicked in, or she could be  _ dead _ right now!”

“Sh-shut up! I’d never mean to put her in danger! I-I thought she’d be fine! No one would take her in a crowd, and she had you guys and all the Wolves-!”

“I stepped out to get some air,” Kagome said, wincing at the pounding of her head as she tried to defend him. “I-I shouldn’t have left the building…”

“Don’t you think for a second that this is your fault,” Sango warned. “It’s even easier to take someone in a crowd, Inuyasha! What the hell were you thinking?!”

“I wasn’t thinking!” he shouted, quieting all of them. “I wasn’t thinking, okay? I was an idiot, and I’ll never leave her alone again! You can beat the shit out of me later, and I’ll deserve it, but right now we need to get her to the hospital!”

“Don’t need ho-pal,” Kagome insisted, shaking her throbbing head. “Just… home. Mom can help if there’s a problem. Please… I want to go home.”

“I saw your head hit that wall, Kagome. You could have seriously damaged-”

“Home, Inuyasha. Please.”

He stopped talking, and then sighed, hugging her closer to himself. “Okay. We’ll take you home. Just keep talking; don’t fall asleep on me. You probably have a concussion.”

But the dizziness was fading. “I-I don’t think it’s that bad,” she managed, as they walked around to the front. “Really, I had him on the ropes…”

“You sure did,” Inuyasha said quietly as he buckled her into the back seat. Sango took shotgun with Miroku shooting a worried glance back before starting the engine. Inuyasha sat beside Kagome, arm around her as she snuggled into his shoulder. “I bet you were a badass, Kagome.”

“I’m always a badass. And Sango said I’m dressed to kill a man; guess I didn’t fulfill that…”

“There was blood coming from his  _ eyes _ \--pretty sure you’re still damn worthy of the title.”

“Good,” she muttered, closing her eyes.

But Inuyasha tapped her forehead. “Nuh uh. Eyes open. You can’t fall asleep.”

“Not falling asleep,” she said. She’d only been trying to blink away tears, but now that her eyes were forced open…

“Oh no… where do you hurt, Kagome?” he said, sounding anxious. 

“Not that, I just…” Her emotions were everywhere. She’d been so scared, angry, depressed, and happy in such a short amount of time. 

He was quiet, as if he was understanding why. Then-- “I swear on my life, I will never leave you alone again. I-I’ll never be able to forgive myself…”

“You came,” Kagome said. “That’s what matters.” Tears were still dripping onto his jacket. “I’m sorry… I should have been more focused on my job, tonight-”

“Job?” Sango spoke up from the front seat. “We weren’t here to work! We came to have fun…” Kagome saw her swivel around and stare at the two of them. “Right?”

Inuyasha swallowed. “W-well… I thought it might be a good chance to get Kikyo to talk to me, and Kagome to come with to look for Jewel-”

“You _ two-timing fuckboy! _ ” Sango screamed, causing Miroku to almost swerve out of their lane. “You lead on one girl so that you can come here and slobber all over another? I can’t believe you! Kagome deserves better than this!”

“The hell do you mean two-timing fuckboy?” Inuyasha snarled back. “I’m not dating either one of them, and I’m a  _ virgin!  _ And there was no slobbering involved! I wanted info on Naraku and how he made Kikyo join! Kagome knew we were here for business, right, Kag…?” he trailed off when he saw her lowered gaze.

“Did you bother to tell her why you asked her before we went?” Miroku asked, steel behind his voice as he gripped the steering wheel so that his knuckles turned white.

“Oh.” Inuyasha grimaced, closing his eyes. “Oh damn. Shit. I-I thought…”

“It doesn’t matter, guys,” Kagome sighed, not wanting the remainder of this. “I should have known anyway-”

Sango rounded on her now, danger eyes flashing behind her blood-red mask. “Don’t you dare let him get out of this one. I know how happy and excited you were to come tonight with us, and it’s his fucking fault that you were there alone when Miroku and I thought Inuyasha was with you!”

“Sango…” Kagome said tiredly. “I just don’t want to talk-”  
“You… were excited?” Inuyasha said, voice unusually timid.

“Doesn’t matter if I was or not,” she told him, watching the city lights out the window listlessly. “Either way, I was clearly the only one in the place that wasn’t wanted there.” Damn, she hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

“Y-you can’t mean that,” Inuyasha choked. “I wouldn’t have asked you to come if I hadn’t wanted you there!”

“You didn’t want me,” she went on tonelessly. She had wanted to drop it, but now it was all flooding out. “You wanted a Jewel detector.”

“W-well you  _ are _ a Jewel detector-hey!” She’d pushed away from him at those words and rested her head against the window instead. 

“Just leave me alone,” she sighed, putting a hand to her eyes so that they wouldn’t show wetness. 

“Says the girl that was all cuddly just a second ago,” Inuyasha growled.

“If you don’t shut the fuck up right now, I will smack you into next week,” Sango snapped at him. Kagome thought Inuyasha would protest and start a fight, but instead, he became silent. 

They arrived at Kagome’s house not too long after, where Inuyasha finally broke his silence to insist that Kagome be checked for concussion by her mother.

The Inugami then sat around as Mrs. Higurashi asked Kagome questions, shined a light in her eyes. Then- “It does look like she has a minor one; lucky it’s not more, what with that big bump on her head. What on earth happened, dear?”

“Dance floors can get rough,” Miroku supplied. “We brought her home right after we saw her get accidentally hit.” Well, none of that was a lie.

“Thank you,” her mother said. “Well, I’ll give her some pain meds and ice for that bump. Sleep would actually be the best course of action at this point. I suggest you all get home and get some rest.”

“Right,” Sango said gently, putting a hand on Kagome’s back. “Take care of yourself, okay, Kags?”

“You know it,” Kagome assured her sleepily. “Sorry your night had to end early, guys.”

“Don’t you dare think of it,” Miroku said firmly. “We’re just glad that you’ll be okay. Mrs. Higurashi, would you mind if we came to check on her tomorrow?”

“That would be no problem; so sweet of you to offer. Be safe, now.”

“Text me when you get home, guys,” Kagome said as they left. “So that I know you got there.”

“Will do. Goodnight!” Miroku and Sango waved before they left. Inuyasha was still at her side, quiet. His hair had grown out a bit, so that his bangs shaded over his tight face. Standing tall and silent, casting a protective shadow over her, he looked more like a guardian angel than half demon.

“Inuyasha?” her mother said, hinting in her innocent way. “Your brother is probably wondering where you are. Do you need something?”

After a beat in which Kagome felt his eyes burn into her, he said, “No. Thank you. Goodnight.” She heard the door close.

“It seems as if he was really worried about you,” her mother said.

“Hmm.”

Pressing an ice pack to Kagome’s head, her mother went on hesitantly, “Why don’t you tell him how you feel about him?”

Kagome really hoped he wasn’t listening in. “It wouldn’t do any good. He loves his ex and I can’t compete with her. He wouldn’t accept my feelings and then our friendship might be destroyed.”

“Or,” her mother countered, sitting across from her daughter, “you could just be acting insecure and all your chances to be together the way you both want will disappear because of it.”

“Mom, you don’t-”

“Understand? Sweetheart, no one fully understands being in love. But something I do understand about it is that the most important part of a romantic relationship is friendship. It is the basis for everything, and you and Inuyasha have that.”

“Mama, he doesn’t-”

“No, you’re going to hear me out. Listen, Kagome. If friendship is the most important, than what will make your friendship strong will also strengthen any other bond. And a best friend,” her mother said, “always, always, tells the truth.” Sitting back, she gave a laugh. “Well, if your friend asks you if their dress makes them look fat and you think it does, then honesty isn’t always necessary there. But with the really important things, like how you feel, something you don’t approve of them doing… you always tell the truth, and truth takes confidence. So don’t compare yourself to that girl, and be honest with him, okay? A person deserves to know who loves them and how.”

Kagome didn’t feel like arguing. “Okay, Mama.”

Half an hour later, she was crawling into bed with ice pack still held to the back of her head. Soon after, Inuyasha invited himself in through the window, outside which he normally slept. Ignoring him, she lay down facing the wall--he finally sat himself down with a heavy sigh by her bed, and spoke. “Kagome, I’m sorry.” When she didn’t respond, he went on, sounding slightly more desperate. “I-I’m not… good with words, okay? I didn’t mean to say you’re a Jewel detector as if that’s all I think you are. I meant that you just have that ability. I wanted you there. I would have if you could detect Shikon or not. We make a good team, and it’s not the same if you’re not there.”

She still couldn’t find it in her to answer, but that just made him keep talking. “And I’ll never, ever leave you again. I figured out it was a trick to distract me and ran down to find you as soon as I could. Please believe me.”

Finally, she answered, “I believe you. I just wish you would’ve told me… why we were going. I don’t think you understand how stupid I felt when I realized you didn’t come there to spend time with me.”

“But I  _ did _ want to-!”

“A good friend always tells the truth,” she bit out, turning to face him. “Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying!” he protested. “I was planning on hanging out with you after I talked to her! You want me to take a polygraph? I’ll pass with fucking flying colors.”

“I doubt you wanted to do that after she kissed you,” she said in return, feeling a little petty.

“Wh-what?”

“I saw you two. Heard you. Don’t play dumb.”

He was quiet, and she was surprised he even understood that it upset her. Eventually, he said slowly, “Kagome, I don’t know why she did that, okay? I was surprised too and didn’t want to hurt her. I just… I think of her every day because… it’s my fault Naraku got her. I wasn’t there to protect her when he forced the Shikon on her. I feel it’s my responsibility to free her from it, because I should have been there to make sure it hadn’t happened in the first place.”

Kagome felt herself soften. “Inuyasha, what happened to Kikyo wasn’t your-”

“I’d fought with her before it happened, okay?” he ground out. “I was mad that she was moving away. I felt like someone else was leaving me and so I lashed out at her. She did something reckless afterwards because she felt guilty, and now it’s my turn. The year she had moved away like her family had planned, she was forced to buy drugs from that bastard and get them shipped to her, forced to join the gang and be his girlfriend when she came back. I can’t let her try to escape this on her own.”

Kagome paused to let the words sink in. “I… understand why you feel responsible. But I don’t think you are.”

“That’s because you’re a fucking cinnamon roll sunshine that rejects all the bad shit in the world.” She glared, but his mouth played with a grin. “Maybe because when you’re here, the shit in the world runs away screaming. That’s what makes you Kagome.” After a moment of hesitation, he leaned up and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Now get some sleep. I’m not leaving your side, so don’t worry.”

“I don’t worry,” she told him, the haze of sleep already overtaking her vision of his gentle face. “Because I won’t leave you, either.”

 


	9. Chapter 9

It was a week from the night at the club before someone in the group finally rounded up the courage to ask, “So, Inuyasha… did you learn anything about Naraku from Kikyo?”

Miroku dropped the question casually as he tried to keep up with Inuyasha’s dribbling across the basketball court in back of the school. It was cracked and rusted and stained with spray paint, but the Inugami had stayed after to play anyway. Well, Kagome hadn’t even tried to go join the game, knowing that they’d all force her to sit back down so that she wouldn’t hit her healing head. But she enjoyed time with a book and watching Shippo and Inuyasha face Sango and Miroku (who were being creamed horribly). 

However, when Miroku asked the question, the ball slipped from Inuyasha’s clawed hands and bounced sadly off the court. Swallowing and keeping his eyes on the ground, Inuyasha muttered, “I just asked her how Naraku got her. She couldn’t give me info on the hideout; I didn’t expect her to, either. She’d get in a lot of trouble.”

“And… how did Naraku get her?” Sango prompted, having picked up the basketball. She wiped a sheen of sweat from her forehead and rested the ball against her hip.

Kagome lowered her book further, eyes now only locked on the scene. Inuyasha looked uncomfortable, as if this was a private matter, but Sango didn’t seem to care. “She went looking for him as an expert on demonic energies. He slipped her some in a drink or something.”

“Why did she need to know about that?” Shippo said. “Couldn’t she have just asked you?”

“I didn’t know the answer to her question.”

“Which was what?” Miroku pressed. 

His ears twitched, arms crossed. “She wanted to know how to turn me human. Permanently.”

“Human?” Sango wondered, baffled expression mirrored on Miroku and Shippo’s faces alike. “Why?”

“So that she could be with me,” Inuyasha murmured.

The monster in Kagome’s chest snarled at the idea, growled at the pain that spiked in her heart. Shippo glanced at her worriedly.  _ Does Shippo... know how I feel about Inuyasha? _ Kagome wondered, apprehensive.

Sango was still raising a skeptical eyebrow, but it was Miroku whose eyes darted to Kagome before asking hesitantly, “So, after all of this… you intend to be with her?”

“Well… She suffered so much for me. I owe her in return… I promised to protect her.”

Kagome’s soul seemed to spiral downward, and she looked from her shaking hands to her friends. She knew it. He was going to leave. He was going to abandon them, her, for a girl who didn’t love him the way he is.

Surely, the rest of the Inugami knew that? 

She examined them again, desperately, waiting for one to present the idea that Inuyasha was being crazy. All looked awkward, but kept their silence. They didn’t want to make him mad. They thought it was hopeless. 

But if Kagome said something, surely he would get angry at her? Even hate her, for telling him what he didn’t want to hear? Telling him something that may not make a difference at all? She didn’t know if she could survive her best friend and love hating her.  _ A good friend always tells the truth... _

Then she looked at Inuyasha, quiet and thoughtful. His hard face had grown sad and guilty, golden eyes heavy. He was so kind, strong, unearthly beautiful… and if he did this, he would all go to waste.

“No,” she found herself saying suddenly. “No.”

They all turned to regard her, three with surprise and a touch of relief, and Inuyasha with a, “What?”

“I said no,” Kagome told him more firmly, putting her book aside and standing. “You’re being ridiculous.”

His mouth opened and closed like a fish. “Excuse me?”

“You’re being a _ fucking idiot! _ ” she finally shouted, intending to jam it in his thick skull. She’d never said the “f” word before… she’d saved it for a time where she needed extreme emphasis, and she was satisfied with her choice. It had made him stumble backwards in alarm. She grasped the momentum of the conversation, continuing, “You deserve better, you hear me? Kikyo _ doesn't love you! _ Don’t you understand? She wants you to be human because she can’t accept you for who you are! Do you want to be with someone that will try to make you whatever she wants for the rest of your life?”

Inuyasha seemed to have finally regained the ability to vocalize. “What the hell? It’s none of your damn buisness, Kagome!”

“The hell it isn’t!” Kagome shot back, pretending his words hadn’t stung. She balled her fists, marching at him until she was right at his front. “You’re my best friend! I’m not about to watch you throw yourself away to a girl like that! If she can’t love who you are and that caused her to screw up, that’s not your problem! She went to Naraku because she loved herself, wanted you the way she wanted you for herself, not because she wanted anything good for you!”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” he snarled. Miroku, Sango, and Shippo’s eyes all darted between the two of them like they were watching a particularly violent ping-pong match. “It would be too hard for a human to spend their life with a half demon!”

“That’s bullshit! Your demon and human blood makes no difference; you just tell yourself that to avoid the fact that she wanted you to be human because she doesn’t love the real you!” Jabbing him in the chest with a finger, she spat out, “She loved the feeling of you loving her! She was using you, and you know what? You were using her too! You were so frigging sure that no one could ever love you that you jumped on the first chance that looked real, loved how you felt loved and understood, not  _ alone _ , instead of actually wanting _ her! _ ”

“You  _ shut up! _ ” he lashed back, shoving her hand away from him. Pain clouded his eyes, rage, humiliation. “Just shut up, Kagome!” She hated how this was hurting him; each ounce of pain reflected on his face seemed to drop onto her shoulders tenfold. But she was on a roll now, and he _ needed to know. _

“You only say that because you know I’m right!” she cried back, throwing up her hands. “You’re too  _ scared _ to let go of the only person that you thought cared about you! Well, newsflash, Inuyasha! You don’t owe her shit! Kikyo  _ didn’t care about you! _ She cared about her damn self and her ideal man that she wanted you to be!”

This time, he flinched and stumbled back, as if she’d stabbed him. His ears were drooping as his face was finally clear of any shields; the vulnerability showed loss, despair, like a child who’d gotten the world pulled out from under his feet. The rest of the Inugami let out a hiss of breath, as if to say,  _ “Oh damn--she went there.” _

Then his ears lay flat, canines bared. Shields back up. “What the fuck would you know? You’re just a naïve, little girl, and you’re just saying all this because you’re jealous of her!”

Kagome gaped, now being her turn to say, “ _ Excuse _ me?”

“You heard me! No one’s ever been in love with you, and they never will be with that stupid, big mouth of yours! So it’s not like you’d even know!”

“Shiiiiit…” Shippo let out as Kagome choked on any words that may have come next.

_ Never will be… _

“Okay,” she managed, demanding that tears stay back in her eyes. “O-Okay. Th-that may be. But m-maybe I’d rather have a s-stupid, big mouth than lie to myself about love that doesn’t exist.”

Having lasted as long as she could, Kagome finally turned away and gathered up her things at the bench. She held her breath to keep from crying and swung on her backpack. 

“K-Kagome!” Inuyasha said behind her, voice thick with frustration, but she ignored him. Arms crossed over her stomach, she avoided looking at any of them and started towards home. 

There were hurried footsteps, and Kagome was ready to punch him for following her-

But it was Sango, putting a gentle hand on her back and squeezing her shoulder. In companionable silence, they made their way to Kagome’s house, pretending to be blind to the worried, half-demon boy racing behind them along rooftops to ensure their safety. 

Kagome prided herself in how she’d managed to keep a single tear from shedding, but she still dragged her feet and felt her eyes dim as she made her way into her house with Sango. Her mother was smiling at the kitchen sink while humming, but the smile faded as soon as she saw the look on the girls’ faces. “Welcome home, Kagome, and good to see you, Sango… Is something wrong?”

“I told the truth,” Kagome said in a monotone, and they made their way towards the stairs without further comment. Kagome registered a low conversation being had in the kitchen, probably with Sota. There was soon a patter of footsteps, and her little brother ran into view. 

His messy mop of black hair tousled as he hurried over with something in his small hands. He was only eight, and she hated to have to let him down, but as his determined face came near, she sighed wearily, “I’m sorry, Sota, but I’m not really in the mood for video games-”

“That’s not what I was gonna say,” Sota protested, and held out the contents of his hands. “You looked sad, so you need some of this and anime.”

It was brownie chunk chocolate ice cream--a small tub for each of them.

She blinked at the buckets, before squeezing her little brother in a suffocating hug. Predictably, he struggled, kicking and saying a muffled, “Gah! Sis, lemme go!” into her shirt.

“You’re my favorite boy ever!” Kagome cried, squeezing him tighter. “Okay, okay, you can go. Thank you.”

The little boy grumbled and straightened his hair as they made their way to her room.

It was after their shoveling of ice cream and first two episodes of Ouran High School Host Club where Sango finally decided it was safe to speak. “That was really brave of you, you know. What you said.”

“Or stupid,” Kagome muttered. “Now he… he hates me…”

“You know that’s not true,” Sango scolded. “You’re both just angry. But you knew he’d be angry when you said it, and you did it anyway.”

“Yeah. Stupid. And I hurt him.” Kagome mournfully stirred around a brownie bit. “Awesome friend I am.”

“The truth can hurt,” Sango said simply. “A good friend won’t say things that will hurt. A  _ best _ friend will say truths that hurt at first, but those truths will make sure that their friend doesn’t get hurt worse in the future. You sacrificed the peace between you two so that he wouldn’t make a bad decision. You cared about him that much. That’s brave. I wish I… I wish I could’ve done that.”

Kagome was calmed by her words, but then confused. “You’re very brave, Sango. What do you mean?”

“My brother.” She said. Kagome stiffened; they never spoke of Sango’s brother. “Kohaku. I love him very much. A fat lot of help that did him… I kept quiet. I didn’t tell him that I disapproved of the people he was hanging around, didn’t tell him he wasn’t mature enough to be out so late. I didn’t want him to hate me, or be angry at me. After mom died, I couldn't bear that. I was a coward.” 

Ducking her head, her chocolate brown hair hid her broken expression as Kagome looked on with wide eyes. “A-and one day… he just d-didn’t come home… We looked and looked for him and finally… we found out that Naraku had him. That he was another addict and his family hadn’t cared enough to keep him away.”

“Sango…”

“He hasn’t been home for two years. Because I didn’t want him to be mad at me for a little while, I lost him completely.”

“Sango,” Kagome said more firmly. “It’s completely natural to not want your family to be mad at you. This is Naraku’s fault.”

“It wouldn’t have happened if I’d just _ talked to him _ ,” Sango choked, curling up with her knees to her chest.

Leaning over to her friend, she pulled Sango into a hug. There they sat for a long time, a comfort in loss, thinking about the boys they’d pushed away.

Finally, Kagome leaned back and lightly rubbed her friend’s back. “Sitting in guilt isn’t going to get him back. Guilt is just something to remind us to do better next time. That’s all.”

Sango gave a slow nod. “I suppose… I’ve never thought of it that way. I’ve just used all that emotion to drive towards defeating Naraku. I almost thought of even becoming a wolf to do so… but there was a time where… Miroku and I were out in town, and some Spiders tried to mug us. One of them… turned out to be my brother.” 

Kagome squeezed her hand. “Did you have to fight him?”

She shook her head. “I was too shocked to fight back. Luckily, Inuyasha showed up and took care of them, put his life on the line for Miroku, who was injured already. But before he hurt my brother, I begged him not to. Inuyasha stopped right away, and has a pretty nasty scar to prove how he didn’t even defend himself.” 

Offering a half smile, Sango told her, “I knew I would stand behind Inuyasha after that, and though I thought this little excuse for a gang was a bad idea, it wasn’t because I wasn’t willing to follow him. Inuyasha… he’s a good man. You have a good taste in them, it seems.” 

Kagome flushed. “I-I suppose. But Inuyasha is just so damn stubborn and arrogant and insensitive! Miroku is a good man. Sensitive and all.”

Sango rolled her eyes. “Of course, he’d be fantastic if he could resist from flirting with everything that could look decent in a skirt.”

“Shippo wins the best man label, then.”

“Agreed.”

Near the fifth episode, Sango’s phone let off a trill. “My dad. Wants me home for dinner.”

Kagome stood, but Sango held up a hand. “I can get myself home just fine.”

“But Inuyasha usually walks most of us home… he even followed us here earlier.”

“I was trained as a child to kill demons. I’ll be fine.” With a last hug and a, “Thank you for everything. Don’t worry; you two will make up in no time.”

So Kagome continued her Ouran marathon, left to brew in her own toiling emotion. That is, until there was a hesitant knock on her door. “Kagome? Can I come in?”

Him.

“No. Go away!” she said childishly, putting her face in her quilt.

“Keh, are you still mad?!”

“I said go away!”

“Would you stop acting five and let me in?”

Kagome gritted her teeth. What was Inuyasha playing at, coming here just to make her angry? Acting five? 

_You’re just a naive, little girl!_  
“I hate you! Go away!”

There was silence on the other side of the door, and he had no argument in return. She violently clicked on the button for the next episode.

When it was over, the voice came again. “Please let me in.”

Oh no. The puppy voice. 

With a sigh, she slouched over and opened the door; she hadn’t wanted to deal with this so soon. But she also knew she shouldn’t have lashed out at him like that. Inuyasha was sitting on his haunches and staring intently at the doorway, piercing eyes moving up to hers. Wincing slightly, he murmured, “You still mad?”

“No,” she admitted, standing out of the way. He stood and entered, making himself at home by plopping down on her bed.

For once, the quiet between them was awkward, but then he managed to say, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean those things I said.”

“I’m sorry that what I told you hurt you,” she answered carefully.

His eyes narrowed into glowing slits. “Then take back what you just said.”

“What? You want me to take back being sorry, or-”

“No, you told me you hated me!” he barked, hogging the quilt by curling it around himself, like a crab in a shell. His voice was muffled from hiding his mouth behind the blanket. “Do you have any idea how much that hurt?!”

She blinked several times. “Oh. I forgot about that. Sorry, I didn’t mean it at all. I was just mad.”

“You  _ forgot _ ,” he huffed, turning his head away.

“I thought you’d stay away for longer,” Kagome told him, closing her laptop.

He raised an eyebrow. “I told you we’d train today. I’m not gonna go back on that because of a fight.”

“Oh,” she said quietly.

His eyes were still locked on her face, burning into her skin. “Look, Kagome… I was upset, okay? For so long, all I’ve wanted… Well, it’s changing now, and I’m confused. Miroku talked to me earlier, and he helped me understand that you said that stuff because you care. I guess I already knew that. I just need some time to think about it. I won’t do anything stupid. I promised I would never leave you. Also, he told me he’d exorcise my demon half if I didn’t say all of this to you exactly we rehearsed.”

Kagome sighed, rolling her eyes. Figures. He actually said feelings; Miroku probably wrote it all down like a script and made Inuyasha memorize it. “Okay.”

Untangling himself from her quilt, he turned to face the setting sun. “Thank you for shoutin’ some sense into me. Wanna go?”

He offered a clawed hand. She’d never realized how easily it could look like the hand of a monster, but when she took it, it cradled hers with an angelic gentleness. “Yeah.”

It wasn’t long before they were again zooming through the streets on his bike, where Kagome finally felt safe holding him from behind. They took off across a bridge along the water, the lights of night beginning to flicker into glowing sentinels that guarded like stars from the tops of skyscrapers. 

It was all peace and warm and the beating of his heart until a shot rang out.

Inuyasha swerved slightly, glancing around. “What the hell was that?!” he shouted from behind his helmet.

Kagome looked over her shoulder. Three motorcycles revved behind them, violet spiders flashing from their jackets. The city lights shone like molten silver off the barrels of the handguns that were raised.

“Spiders!” Kagome cried, squeezing him tighter. “Armed! We have to lose them!”

Uttering creative profanity, Inuyasha suddenly took off in the right lane, speeding far past the limit. The Spiders were still close behind, but too focused on following his weaving between lanes to use their weapons.

“Just do this for a while and they should get off our tail!” Kagome told him. She chanced another look back. “Why are they chasing us  _ now?! _ ”

“Naraku might’ve placed a better reward since you kicked his ass!” Inuyasha called back. “They’ll probably injure or aim for tires; probably won’t try to kill us!”

“ _ Probably?! _ ”

Car horns blared from the side and behind as another thundering shot cracked through the wind. With a curse, Inuyasha said, “Grab the handlebars when I say go!”

“What?!”

“Go!” She reached under his arms and gripped the handlebars so that the rubber dug into her palms. He turned back, and after slashing a gash in his own arm, he shouted, “Blades of blood!” Kagome didn’t look back, but she saw red fly past her vision and heard the screeching of a bike loose control, the screams of a Spider wiping out behind them.

Inuyasha regained control of the motorcycle and called, “Kagome! Have we lost ‘em?”

Squinting back through the tinted visor, she made out two motorcycles two cars down, gaining by driving into the middle of the lane. “The other two are still following!”

“They left their comrade?! Assholes! Ugh. Hold on!”

She screamed as he turned the bike very suddenly off the road, rocketing on the sidewalk and down a decline towards the lakeshore until they were underneath a bridge. On the concrete beside the rushing, black water, he drove on, speeding the bike up the next hill to burst onto a different highway.

Kagome finally pulled her face upwards from his shoulder, loosened her death grip. “Did we… lose them?”

“Of course,” he scoffed. “There’s no way they could’ve-”

_ Bang! Bang! Bang! _

The two bikes, relentless behind them. Her heart was racing up in her throat,

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Inuyasha shouted. “There’s no way they could’ve… oh damn. They must be demons, and my blood makes the smell even more… damn it, hold tight again!”

Inuyasha weaved, again ignoring the honking of the horns and the police sirens that were growing closer every second. 

The bikes were right behind them now, pushing Inuyasha closer to the edge of the rail. She felt the growl in his chest, felt hands reaching for her and pulling on her so that her grip on Inuyasha slipped-

He snatched her wrist and tugged her back, slashing his claws across the enemy’s face. The man screamed and careened off to the side, leaving Kagome feeling a surge of victory… until she heard the other guns.

Four more were following three cars down. Reinforcements.

“They called in more!” warned Kagome.

He only gave a snarl before turning off road again, swerving down into a gully before up and into the first highway, opposite direction. From there, he drove the motorcycle into oncoming traffic, and then over the edge of the road again. Kagome had lost her ability to even scream; she only held on and prayed that he knew what the hell he was doing.

The Navy Pier was ahead of them, and he swerved between shrieking people and booths to get to the end of the long structure, where he burst through the fence, and they went flying out into Lake Michigan.

Black. The world was black and crushing and she couldn’t breathe; the helmet pressed on her face and the water rushed into her nose and mouth. Weightless, fading-

Large hands grasped her by the waist and threw her upward onto creaking metal, where she was then carried and set down in an alcove of a nearby building. The helmet was torn off, and Kagome choked, water splashing from her mouth. She sucked in air hungrily, coughing out the lake water that seemed to have soaked into her very sinuses.

Inuyasha was then gripping her face, pushing sopping hair away and running his hands, shaking, over her. Her arms, knees, waist, shoulders.

“Are you okay? You okay? Oh God, please, Kagome, are you hurt? Can you hear me? I’m so sorry. Can you breathe? Were you hit anywhere? Are you-?”

“F-fine,” she gasped, grabbing his wrist and blinking her eyes open. Shadows leaked down his frightened face, and his eyes glowed like an animal caught in headlights. “I’m fine. Are you alright? Did you get shot? Hurt by the bike? Oh, your arm!”

“No, I’m fine. I heal fast after I do blades of blood. Oh, thank God.” His hands were still trembling as he brushed them across her cheeks. “I’m so sorry--water will make them lose our scent, and otherwise they’d keep… I’m so sorry. Oh, thank God…”

Before she knew it, she’d been pulled onto his lap, where she was curled up and tucked into his chest. Inuyasha just kept stroking her wet and wild hair, tightening his arms, thanking a God she’d thought he didn’t believe in… or maybe he hadn’t until now.

She didn’t know how long it was, having been soaking the moment into her skin so that the chill of the water washed out. Even though they’d been drenched in lakewater, he was warm, and somehow she fit tucked right against him so that she didn’t really want to move. But alas, they were wet and tired. “Inuyasha? How are we going to get to your place?”

“It’s not far. I’ll carry you on my back.”

The rocking of his walking lulled her into a tranquil daze, and she watched the buildings twinkle by. His arms were firm around her legs, her hands clasped over his chest so that she could feel his heartbeat in rhythm with his footsteps.

True to his word, they arrived in about thirty minutes, standing still dripping and exhausted in the elevator. Luckily, the only items in Kagome’s bag were her clothes and phone--not her laptop and homework. Inuyasha had told her on the way back that they’d either get the water out with a bag of rice or he’d buy her a new phone. Of course,  _ his _ had to be all fancy and waterproof. (“Don’t mean to sound like a rich jackass, but stop throwin’ a fit; I got cash to burn. And another motorcycle.”)

“Go ahead and shower off with some hot water. You could’ve gotten hypothermia today,” Inuyasha said as he took her bag from her. It was if he were scolding her… for something he’d done. 

She rolled her eyes at his tone. “Okay. But my change of clothes are soaked.”

He wouldn’t look her in the eye, clumsily spilling rice into a ziplock bag and all over the counter before dropping her phone in. “Um, just hang your underwear to dry the rest of the way in the bathroom. I’ll get you a shirt of mine or something.”

Sure enough, as soon as she stepped out of the shower, one of his T-shirts and sweatpants that would likely make her trip over her own feet were folded neatly next to the sink. After toweling her short hair dry, she shook it and gave it a thirty-second brush. In his drawers, she dug up a hairdryer and used it on her underwear until it was warm and not quite as gross. Kagome pulled the shirt over her head, bringing the collar up to her nose and inhaling his scent of leather and wind… while she could get away with it. After rolling the sweatpants up several times and pulling the drawstring about her hips so that they wouldn’t simply fall to the ground, she yawned and padded from his room. 

“Hey, ‘Yash?” Kagome said tiredly when she spotted him on the couch. He was slouched sluggishly, bare feet apart on the ottoman with a t-shirt and pants similar to her own. When she spoke, he looked up.

“Hmm?” he said, and there was a pink tinge to his face as he flipped past Cutthroat Kitchen with the remote. His now chin-length, shaggy hair was more poofy than usual, ears drooping lazily--he’d taken a shower as well.

“These aren’t really good clothes for sparring and running.” Kagome pointed to herself.

Inuyasha scoffed, “You think I’m actually gonna make you train after everything that happened today? C’mere and pick an anime.”

She felt a smile settle onto her lips and scrambled for a spot beside him. But before Kagome could pick, she froze.

When Inuyasha saw her frown and look around the room cautiously, he assured her, “That fluffy-tailed douchebag has a late night at the station. I wouldn’t have left you in my bathroom or took a shower in his if he was here.” Then he hesitated. “Well, not that I think he’d be a creep or something, because he’s probably the most asexual being in existence. Like, he probably goes through mitosis.”

“Pretty sure cell asexuality is different than human and demon asexuality.” Kagome let out a hiccuping snort. “But the mitosis would be entertaining.”

“Endless, exact replicas of an emotionless, white-haired, dog Fabio with permanent, purple eyeshadow,” Inuyasha choked, clutching his chest. “Black magic, begone!”

Letting out an easy laugh, she threw a pillow at him. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Give me holy fire to burn the images from my brain.”

“What brain?” 

“Oh, you little-” 

After an intense pillow fight, ramen gorging, and much arguing over Netflix and watchcartoononline, the two managed to settle on Blue Exorcist. (“Hey, he’s the only half-demon character I know! I can  _ empathize _ . Don’t you want me to have  _ empathy _ , woman?!”)

And so that’s how the night drifted away, filled with yelling at fictional characters and laughter and his warm arm naturally draped over her shoulders.

“I’ll text your mom for you to explain why you’ll be staying over,” he whispered once her eyes began to flutter tiredly. “It’s the least I can do for crashing you into Lake Michigan. Try to get some sleep. You can take my bed and I’ll take the couch.”

“No, let’s just…” She yawned. “Can we just stay here?”

A pause. “If you want.”

“You should sleep too,” she told him, watching his fingers move across his keyboard. “You’ve been doing a lot this week. Raiding that one party where they were dealing by yourself on a whim.”

“I’m not tired,” answered Inuyasha with a shrug. “Actually… It’s kinda weird. I’ve only slept about two hours every night this week.”

“What?!” Kagome practically shrieked, sitting up straight. “Inuyasha, you should be dead with that amount of sleep.”

“I dunno… I’ve been up most of the night night, every night. But I feel totally fine. Great, actually.” He read a text from her mother and then put the phone away. “I don’t know why. Probably just pumped to get Naraku now that he hurt you.” A growl. “I think it’s giving me more energy. I’ve started to accidentally break things. I feel stronger.”

Kagome frowned, an ominous feeling in her gut and worry in her chest. “Despite that, you really need to sleep. It could have terrible effects on your health later. Try to sleep tonight?”

“M’kay,” muttered Inuyasha, setting his head on top of hers. “Now that you mention it, I am gettin’ a little tired tonight…”

And the morning began first with her cuddling into his embrace, followed by Inuyasha (Were those marker-drawn whiskers and a black puppy nose on his face?) letting out sputters at the notifications on his phone. He was then tackling a smirking Sesshomaru in the kitchen with a stream of swear words. Something about pictures sent to Miroku and posted on Instagram and…

Oh. Damn.

 


	10. Chapter 10

“We need to end this,” Sango said firmly at the booth they had stuffed into the day after the Lake Michigan Epic Bike Dunk. It was another night at the restaurant after it was closed, where the Inugami sat around with their dinner and traded homework answers. Therefore, when Kagome heard Sango say end ‘this’, she wasn’t sure if it referred to a greater evil in the world than her functions worksheet.

“Agreed,” Shippo groaned, dropping his pencil atop his lab report. “You can only smell a dead shark so many times with a fox nose before your brain starts to liquify.”

“I meant,” she sighed, “this fight. With Naraku.”

Miroku’s mouth twitched. “I do believe the point of starting the fight was to end it, dear Sango.”

“We need to end it!” said Inuyasha, snorting. He leaned back, balancing a spoon on his nose. “What a fucking fantastic idea. Why haven’t I thought of that?”

“You two,” Sango pointed at them with narrowed, danger eyes, “need to stuff it before I stuff you. My point is, it’s getting ultra dangerous now. We’d just been reducing Shikon levels and doing some recon for the last months, but look, I have a life!” Sango slumped down into the end spot, absently molding to Miroku’s side when his arm went around her. “We’re going to college after this summer. I need a better job. We all do. The thing we don’t need is Naraku around, almost killing us in stupid motorcycle chases. We need to speed up this operation, have a plan.”

Kagome put down her pencil and stirred her soup with a frown. She’d been having similar thoughts, but the fight against Naraku had been slow going with no solution in sight. The Inugami had spooked Naraku once, making him much harder to find. Now, he was finding  _ them _ , and rather violently, at that.

Her eyes, as usual, swept to Inuyasha, who was glaring at his bowl like it had given him a personal offense. He stirred it, then rolled his shoulders. Then, he winced, swallowed, and blinked several times. Now that she looked closer… he looked very pale. Almost a greenish tinge.

Kagome leaned to whisper to him, “Inuyasha? Are you okay? You look pale.”

It was only for an instant, but he froze. “Fine,” he gritted out. “You’re imaginin’ things.” With that, he turned back to the conversation. “I’d  _ love _ to hear how to find Naraku’s lab and distribution,” Inuyasha said snidely. “I know! Let’s just go ask them nicely!”

There were snickers around the table followed by Sango’s huff, but it was Shippo who spoke, “Ask them… Hey, I have an idea.”

Kagome perked up; as a fox demon, she knew he was more cunning than the average freshman. “What’s that, Shippo?”

The others listened attentively as Shippo’s bright eyes glowed. “Look, Inuyasha was right. The one thing we haven’t tried is asking nice…” His nose twitched. And again. And he frowned. “Inuyasha? Are you… okay?”

Her eyes darted to Inuyasha, who was clenching his jaw. “‘Course I am. Keep talking.”

“No, you’re not,” Shippo said, wrinkling up his nose. “You smell like a dying dog.”

“Well, you smell like a rat’s a-”

He was interrupted by Kagome’s hum of discontent. “Inuyasha I told you, you don’t look so good.” Her eyes narrowed. “You did sleep more last night, right?”

“Yeah, and I’m fine,” Inuyasha grumbled, shoving away her concern. “Shippo? Plan?”

“Did you throw up today? It smells like you did,” Shippo said instead.

“Food disagreed with me. Drop it.”

Miroku leaned forward. “That’s not normal for a half demon, Inuyasha. And you aren’t eating now, either.”

“Not hungry,” Inuyasha protested, but the growls of his stomach betrayed him. 

“Are you nauseous?” Kagome asked with a frown. She lifted her hand to his forehead, and then quickly drew it back with horror. “You’re burning up! And the cold sweat--we need to get you a cold cloth and some medicine!”

Sango stood, followed by Shippo and Miroku out of the booth. “I’ll get the cloth!” Sango said hurriedly.

“I’ll get your mom, Kagome!” offered Shippo, eyes wide. 

“Inuyasha, you should lay down,” Miroku said severely. 

But Inuyasha rose quickly to his feet. “For fuck’s sake, guys, calm down! I’m fine-”

And then he stumbled trying to get out of the booth, crumpling into Miroku’s startled grasp. But he just pushed himself clumsily away and up again. “‘M fine. Just a cold or somethin’.”

“This is not a cold!” Kagome scolded, coming up behind him with a hand on his arm. “You should have told us you were sick! Miroku is right; you need to lay down and rest-”

“Kagome, I’m-!”

“Shut up!”

“I…” He seemed to struggle for words, and he was closing and opening his eyes rapidly. His chest moved up and down in a disjointed rhythm, and then he was falling again. Kagome squeaked, grabbing him along with Miroku quickly to lower him to the ground. This time, Inuyasha was out cold, and-

“Oh my gosh,” choked Kagome, words spilling out. Inuyasha was jerking uncontrollably, sending fear spiking through her heart. “He’s seizing. Miroku…”

“We have to turn him on his side,” Miroku said firmly. His dark eyes met hers, where she was frozen and gaping. “KAGOME!” Miroku shouted gritting his teeth. “Snap out of it and help me!”

“R-right,” she breathed, pushing Inuyasha onto his side and aligning his arms and legs into the correct position. He’d stopped seizing, and Miroku put two fingers on Inuyasha’s pulse.

“It’s uneven,” he muttered. “Hospital. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with him.”

“Me neither,” Kagome said, trying not to let panic take over again. “I-I’ll get his legs…”

There was a groan, and Inuyasha’s eyes fluttered. Kagome scrambled up to his head, where she frantically brushed some stray hair from his face. “Inuyasha? Can you hear me?”

“‘C-course I can,” he murmured, words slurred. “Wh-what j-just…?”

“You had a seizure. We’re taking you to the hospital and you aren’t going to protest,” Miroku told him calmly. “How do you feel now?”

Inuyasha finally gave in and moaned, “Like I... was… run over by... train.”

Once they re-entered the scene, the others gasped and scurried over, including her concern-ridden mother. Inuyasha did protest at being carried on Miroku’s back, but couldn't seem to walk for himself right after the seizure. In the back of Miroku’s SUV, they laid him so that his fevered head rested on Kagome’s lap.

The hospital got him a bed right away, the doctors exclaiming at his insanely high fever and wondering how he was still alive. Kagome and the others watched as Inuyasha was hooked up to IVs, blood samples taken, ice packs put on his head and around his face. Kagome put her shaking hands on the glass outside the room, cursing herself for not noticing earlier, praying to God that this was no more than a terrible virus. 

She felt warmth, and realized that Shippo had wrapped his arms around her from behind. He was hugging her. In comfort for her or himself, Kagome didn’t know, and didn’t care. Kagome hadn’t realized how tall he’d gotten… he must be an inch over her height now. She could nestle her face into his mint-scented, flannel shirt. She wondered if fox demons grew faster than dog types.

“He’ll be okay,” said Shippo firmly. “He’s the toughest guy in the world.”

The faith Shippo had in him managed to bring a small smile to her face as she nodded. But the smile didn’t last; Sango was pacing loudly, Miroku leaning against the wall and tapping his foot while staring unblinkingly ahead. Her mother had gone to get them some water from the vending machine, but Kagome figured she’d really just needed something to do with herself.

“Sesshomaru,” blurted Kagome suddenly, shaking her head. “Oh, I should’ve called him first thing-!”

“Already did,” Miroku said tonelessly. “He’s on his way.”

“He’s here,” a cool voice surfaced, accompanied by resounding footsteps. Sesshomaru had strode toward them, silver hair tied back and commander’s uniform slightly wrinkled. Kagome had thought his face always was serious, but before was nothing compared to the stony expression he wore now. “What is his condition?”

“We don’t know,” Kagome said, biting her lip. “They won’t let us in yet.”

As if on cue, a doctor finally emerged from the room and closed the door behind him quietly. Wiping a sheen of sweat from his forehead and chestnut hair, he regarded the group tiredly. “Family?”

“Me,” Sesshomaru said shortly.

“Right, you can come in-”

“His friends brought him here,” said the demon, eyes flashing. “Them and myself are all he has. I request that they be allowed to enter so that I don’t have to annoyingly repeat all of the information to them.”

The doctor’s eyes nervously trailed from his badge to the demon markings on his face. Choosing life over job, he swallowed. “O-of course. You can all come in.”

Kagome’s mother returned as they entered the room, busying herself with making sure everyone had something to drink. Inuyasha appeared to be unconscious, but his eyes fluttered and he was still grimacing. Color had not yet returned to his cheeks. 

Examining his clipboard, the doctor cleared his throat. “We’ve seen these symptoms before, and a blood sample confirmed it. Mr. Tashio here is showing signs of heavy Shikon Jewel withdrawal.”

The room erupted.

“That’s bullshit!” Shippo said first.

“How the hell?!” said Sango, aghast.

Miroku was shaking his head quickly. “There has got to be a mistake.”

“Impossible,” Sesshomaru agreed shortly, eyes narrowing dangerously.

It was Kagome that spoke up to the distressed doctor. “Sir, that can’t be true. Inuyasha here--he’s dedicated his life to taking down the Spiders and their Shikon. He hates it; Naraku killed his parents! I’ve watched him destroy any bit of Shikon he can find. There’s no way on earth he’d ever take some!”

“Perhaps he didn’t,” sighed the doctor. “Many patients with this problem had the drug forced upon them. It is easy to slip in when one is distracted. A drink, food, even a whiff of what would seem to be perfume-”

“Inuyasha is not that kind of fool,” Sesshomaru snapped. “He knows better than to accept food or drink from anyone but a trusted source.”

“I’m sure that’s true, Mr. Tashio,” the doctor tried to mediate. “But sometimes victims just don’t realize it. The batch he seems to have ingested or breathed in somehow is an extended release, which would give moderate boosts of energy for a long period of time before a very severe and quick crash. Harder to notice a change. It reflects the ingredients that the makers seem to give to demons, but luckily, he has not been given a full dose. He must’ve stopped part way through eating, drinking, or inhaling whatever Shikon he was slipped. If he’s a fighter, he should make it through… but it will be painful.”

Words caught in Kagome’s throat, and it was her mother who voiced for her, “Painful? How? And how can we prevent that?”

“Well,” the doctor viewed Inuyasha’s fitful form, pity flooding his gaze, “the demon energies in the drug involve forces that science alone can’t explain. In this case, they’re an evil power that’s used to punish the user for not taking more of the drug. The demon energies will attack his insides until they eventually fade away. From what I’ve been told, it’s like knives stabbing you from within your own body.” The man clicked the clip on his board--a nervous tick. “He’s in for a rough night; the best we can do is give him a high dose of morphine. The Shikon rehabilitation program that weans people off of the drug is currently out of the drug and have no idea how to make more.”

Kagome’s eyes flicked to Sesshomaru, who was staring hard at his brother. She knew he probably had some Shikon in the evidence locker, but- “Use the morphine,” Sesshomaru said shortly. “He will make it.”

Nodding, the doctor hurried from the room to get the medicine. After one, long and unreadable look at his brother, Sesshomaru swept out as well. Kagome’s mother left right after, muttering about getting them food and glancing worriedly at Inuyasha.

As if approaching a minefield, the Inugami crept toward Inuyasha’s bed. Kagome sat closest, right up by his head. Despite the ice, his head was still sticky with sweat. She swept away his silver hair so that it tucked behind his ear. While she had been about to ask if they should just sedate him until the energies had faded from his system, she now saw, as he kept grimacing and taking in sharp breaths, that he was feeling the pain even in his sleep. The pain medication, something to dull his pain receptors, would be of more use.

From his seat in a wooden chair at the end of the bed, Miroku watched the doctor’s every move as the morphine was hooked up to the IV, and Sango continued to pace. Shippo took his place beside Kagome. 

“I should’ve noticed sooner,” blurted Kagome suddenly, gulping thickly as she traced Inuyasha’s clammy hands with her own. “I should’ve noticed the energy, the not sleeping, how he was sick-”

“Don’t be silly, Kagome,” Sango said, but her tone was gentle. Her pacing slowed. “We all could’ve noticed, but he was hiding it well. He didn’t want us to think anything was wrong. He wouldn’t want you blaming yourself, either. Inuyasha will be just fine.”

“What I want to know,” Miroku spoke gravely, “is who managed to get the drug in his system. He wouldn’t have eaten or drank anything from anyone else, or left food or drink unattended, like Sesshomaru said. It had to have been injected or inhaled.”

“Injected? Like a syringe?” Shippo shook his head. “As if anyone could get close enough to Inuyasha with a needle without getting punched in the face. And it’s not like he’d fallen asleep anywhere but Kagome’s house. If the Spiders knew where Kagome lived, they would have attacked her already.”

Kagome nodded. Of course, Spiders had tried to follow her home before, but Inuyasha had always sensed them and managed to lead them off… or fight them. Eventually, they just gave up on that approach.

Frowning, Sango said hesitantly, “But he’s been attached to the hip with Kagome and the rest of us for the last two weeks. Also, his sensitive nose would’ve noticed that he was inhaling something. Has there been any time where he was out of our sight?”

The group lapsed into silence, mulling over the question. Kagome closed her eyes, thinking of every interaction she’d had with him in the last week. They all went to the club, been together at the beginning and end…

_ It is easy to slip in when one is distracted. A drink, food, even a whiff of what would seem to be perfume... _

Kagome gasped, mind flashing to an image of Kikyo kissing Inuyasha in a dark hall, and how Kagome had left afterwards-

“You… you don’t think…?” Kagome paused. Surely not? Surely Kikyo wouldn’t go as far as to hurt him… “At Gehenna, when he was with-”

“Kikyo?” Sango finished, eyes narrowing. “Why would she-?

Sango was interrupted by knocking on the door. At first, she thought it must be her mother returning, but why would her mother bother to knock?

Since Sango was already standing, she strode over to answer it. There, framed in sickly light with a chill about her, was Kikyo. Her face was stoic, white hands clasped delicately around a small purse in front of her. As always, she wore black and purple, dark hair streaming down her back.

Raising her eyebrows challengingly, Sango tilted up her chin. “Kikyo. What do we owe the  _ pleasure? _ ”

Yeah. Sango apparently had no problem openly disliking Kikyo.

“I heard about Inuyasha,” Kikyo said levelly, steady eyes sweeping over to his restless form. “I came to see if he was alright.”

“He’s not,” Shippo said, crossing his arms. “No thanks to you and your Spidery friends.”

The comment didn’t seem to faze her. “Is he in pain?”

“Yes.” Miroku stood, crossing the room to stand beside Sango in a sort of wall between Kikyo and the bed. “Do you have any idea who slipped him the Shikon?”

She didn’t answer the question. All she did was close the door behind her hold out her purse slightly. “I brought some for him, to wean him off; it’s a less painful and safer way.”

To the astonishment of all occupants, Miroku’s face flashed with rage, and he roughly pushed her hands away. “We don’t need more of your damn drugs! They’re what got my friend into this state in the first place, and you’re crazy if you think I’ll trust whatever Naraku mixed up for him.”

“Miroku…” Kagome said, unable to think of something that would calm the flaming look in his eyes.

“Inuyasha is strong, but without this, he very well may not make it through the night,” Kikyo went on, jaw tightening. “You don’t have much of a choice. I will supply you with Shikon; in exchange, you will hand over the girl to Naraku.”

There was a pregnant pause in which the Inugami forgot to breathe, and then Shippo sputtered, “Wait… you mean Kagome?!”

Kikyo nodded.

At this, Sango let out a slightly crazed laugh. “Haha, well that’s a no. Bye!”

“Naraku will not harm her,” said Kikyo, making no move to leave. “And Inuyasha’s survival can be insured. If she truly cares for him, she’ll come with me.”

Clenching her shaking hands, Kagome rose to her feet. “Okay. I’ll go.”

Shippo caught her wrist. “You’re not going anywhere! Inuyasha would never let you.”

“Inuyasha can’t stop me,” Kagome argued back, pulling her hand away. 

“We can,” Shippo shot back. His bright, green gaze settled on Kikyo with a heated scowl. “It was you, wasn’t it? You drugged Inuyasha!”

Kikyo’s eyes slitted. “So what if I did? Inuyasha will be just fine if Kagome comes with me.”

“Like hell,” said a deep, scratchy voice, and Kagome spun to see Inuyasha trying to push himself into a sitting position.

“Lay back down!” she ordered, but couldn’t hide the relief in her voice that he was awake. “You need to rest.”

He ignored her in that endearing, stupid, stubborn way. Wincing and drawing in a hiss of breath, he managed to glare Kikyo in the eye. “You… you did this? How… how could you?”

“The plan intended for you to be fine,” Kikyo explained quickly, taking an unsure step back. “Naraku just wanted Kagome to come in exchange for the Shikon! You know I want Naraku defeated as much as any of you-”

“And you’d go through with a plan that would involve the most evil asshole of all time getting a hold of Kagome?” Inuyasha snarled heatedly. “As if you thought I’d be fine after that and Naraku would let me live and-”

He doubled over, coughing and clutching at his stomach. A cry was pulled from his throat, and Kagome rushed to his side.

“Please lie back down,” she whispered, tears threatening her eyes. “The medicine will work better soon.”

“You can’t go, you hear me?” Inuyasha gasped, clawing at his sheets to sit back up. “Y-you can’t play into his hands. I-I’ll be fine. I’ve survived a shit ton worse. I won’t take more of it. I won’t. I don’t care what happens. I won’t.”

“B-but you could die if we don’t wean you off-!” protested Kagome, and he just snorted.

“What do you think I am, some pansy who can’t take a little-AH! Ugh...pain?”

“Inuyasha…”

But he was regarding Kikyo once more. “You… you distracted me. Had me i-inhale. You… used me. Tricked me. T-to think I ever thought…” His whole body shuddered as another wave of pain seemed to rush through him. “I-I thought you were b-better than this… I was w-wrong. You k-keep that shit away from me. Tell N-Naraku that I don’t w-want his damn dope and he’ll get Kagome over my dead body.”

Kikyo had the nerve to look sad. “But Inuyasha, I thought we-”

“Well, you thought wrong!” he shouted suddenly, shaking. “And so did I! Whatever the hell we were, it’s over! You never cared about me! I should have known that! If you did, you’d keep Kagome out of danger! But you were willing to bring her to fucking Naraku. Hell, you nearly killed me to do it!”

His claws had ripped into the mattress as he snarled, “Y-you get out of here. Get that Shikon in the trash where it belongs and away from my friends!”

Kikyo’s nostrils flared, face hardening like ice. “So be it. If you change your mind and start caring for Inuyasha more than saving your own skin, Kagome, let me know. I’ll be at the school.”

Swallowing, Kagome hung her head, but Sango had ripped open the door. “You  _ don’t _ talk to her like that. Get. Out.”

And she stalked from the room. Sango slammed the door behind her and spun, fuming. “The nerve of that girl! Gah, saying you don’t care about him?! She’s the one that drugged him in the first place! Nasty, conniving, self-righteous-”

“Sango, c’mon, let’s just calm down and try to figure this out,” Kagome sighed.

“-lying, sadistic, jealous, pretentious, filthy, scum-sucking-” Sango finally breathed.

“Hold on,” Shippo said, tapping at his phone. “Don’t stop. I’ll pull up a thesaurus for you.”

“-twisted, spineless, snotty, stuck-up bitch!” finished Sango, kicking the bed post. Miroku took her hand and pulled his chair over for her, not even bothering to belay her anger.

“We should probably refrain from shaking Inuyasha’s bed, dear Sango,” was all Miroku said, squeezing her shoulders soothingly. 

“S’fine,” muttered Inuyasha. His eyes were hazy. “Stay, Kagome.”

“I’m right here,” she told him, returning to her seat. “How are you feeling now?”

“Mmm,” he hummed, letting his head loll back with a grin. “Sssswell…”

Shippo’s eyes grew round. “Swell?” he echoed fearfully. “What’s wrong with him now?”

With a frown, Miroku walked to the IV and read the labels and machine. “Holy… man, this is the highest dosage I’ve ever seen! No wonder he looks totally baked.”

“Well, it’s better than Shikon or pain,” offered Sango.

“She… she betrayed me,” sighed Inuyasha, closing his eyes. “Knew Kagome was right. Didn’t listen. You were right, Kagome. She don’t love me.”

She tried not to show her pity. “I’m sorry, Inuyasha. You deserve better.”

“I p-promised to save her… and I will. But then… there’s nothin’...W-well…I know now… that it doesn’t matter…” His words kept slurring and trailing off. “I’ve got yoooou guys. You’re all… all the best. I  _ love _ you guys.”

Miroku’s eyes twinkled with mirth. “We love you too, Inuyasha.”

“You don’t caaaaare that I’m a half breed,” he went on, thoughts spilling more recklessly than she’d ever heard. “Not like my village did… when they tried ta… ta kill me when Naraku killed Ma and Dad...still have nightmares…”

At this, they all could do no more than stare at him, horrified and unknowing what to say. But he just kept blabbing on. “So many years I said… I wanted ta… kill Naraku ‘cause he killed them, get justice… I guess I needed to punish him…” Inuyasha let out a low hiss, the gold in his eyes flashing. “Make him feel all those things he made me go through… want him to be alone and have people burn him and stone him and treat him like he was a waste of space so that he never finds a home anywhere!” 

Kagome backed away slightly, shrinking in her chair. The pure and absolute venom in his voice lashed out so hard that it cut through the haze of the drugs he was under. Hesitantly, she curled her fingers around his hand, and he instantly gripped her back. Inuyasha’s eyes met hers. “But now… I don’ even care ‘bout that… anymore… I wanna defeat him… to protect all of you.”

There was a purring noise from his chest, and he lazily brought her hand up to brush against his cheek. “‘Specially yoooooou…”

Mortified and feeling like her face might explode, Kagome cleared her throat and removed her hand. “Oh dear, that medicine is sure having an effect on you! Maybe you should sleep, Inuyasha. You’ve had a rough day.”

“You so pretty,” he sighed instead, clumsily trying to find her hand with his own. “Never told ya… liked that dress…”

“Y-you should really sleep,” Kagome stammered, shooting a despairing and blushing look at the others, who were clearly trying not to laugh.

“I know, I knoooooow…” he slurred. “You don’t love me…”

Sputtering, Kagome said, “I-I do too! You’re my best friend! Don’t say things like that.”

“In love with me. That what I meant.”

She could hear her heart pounding in her head. “You don’t want me to be.”

“Pfft, never said tha’...” he scoffed, eyes fluttering. “C’mon...don’t be dumb…”

“You’re practically stoned and you still call me dumb,” she sniffed with a scowl. 

He only managed a single laugh in his state. “So cute when you mad…”

“Totally stoned,” Shippo agreed with a snicker.

“Go to sleep,” Kagome told him firmly, pulling his covers up to his shoulders. 

“Don’t leave.”

“I’m not leaving.”

His eyelids fluttered. “I want you to stay here.”

“I know.”

“Cuddle with me.”

“No!”

“Whyyyyyy…”

“You are in a hospital bed!”

“Mmm, cuddle be good medicine.”

She granted him a squeeze of the hand. “Go to sleep before you say something else you’ll regret. I’ll be here.”

“Foreveeeeeeeer…?”

“Whatever you want. Just  _ sleep!” _

“Mmm ‘kay, ‘gome.”

“Good boy.”

* * *

 

Kagome had waited long enough. 

Inuyasha was snoring lightly, and Shippo and Sango were asleep, curled up in armchairs next to one another. Her mother and Miroku had gone home two hours ago. She closed her eyes and removed her hand from Inuyasha’s under the blanket. When she opened them, he was still sound asleep, thankfully still not wincing in pain because of the morphine. 

She stood, chancing a last brush of her hand over Inuyasha’s cheek before she pulled on her jacket and crept to the door. Her finger gripped the doorknob, and she held it tight so that her hand would stop shaking. When she took a last look at her friends, her heart hardened; she had to do this. For them. For him. The meds wouldn’t last forever, and then he’d be in excruciating pain. All she had to do was trade herself for him, and she was willing to do that a hundred times over.

Kagome opened and closed noiselessly. She turned, and took a step-

-in which she ran directly into Miroku.

She was unable to help her gasp, but then she clapped a hand over her own mouth. Miroku was staring down at her, indigo gaze hard and narrow. Kagome had never seen him so serious for such a long time. She almost missed the dorky, sensitive Miroku.

“Where exactly,” he said lowly, “are you going?”

Swallowing, she dropped her hands to her sides and clenched her fists. “That’s my business. What are you doing here? I thought you went home.”

“I saw your face when Kikyo said you needed to turn yourself in. I’m not stupid. I’ve been waiting out here all night.” He crossed his arms, like he was a guardian angel standing watch over a bridge to a dark place. “You’re trying to give yourself up to Naraku, aren’t you?”

“I have to do this,” Kagome hissed, trying to sidestep him. He appeared in front of her again. “I have to do this for Inuyasha! Y-you don’t understand; I can’t stand to see him like this. I love-”

“Don’t understand?” Miroku said quietly. There was a sliver of danger in his voice that she’d never heard from his mouth. “I never told you how my parents died, did I?”

A wisp of dread curled in her chest. “No.”

Kagome saw Miroku’s fingers tighten on his arms, turning his skin white. “Naraku has always wanted to collect those with spiritual power, like you, because he knew that they could grow to destroy him. I had the largest spiritual potential of anyone in my ancestral line. He found out.”

Kagome wasn’t sure she wanted to hear this.

“He came for me once, on a day when we were out of the house. In an alleyway on the way back. It looked as if my father had fought him off, but a few days later, my father started… having this inexplicable fever, seizures, pain…”

“Shikon,” Kagome whispered.

Miroku gave a slow nod. “Naraku had gotten him in the middle of the fight. He sent a Spider to tell me that if I gave myself up, my father would be spared with some more Shikon. He’s played this game before.”

“Did you do it?” she asked quietly.

A pause. “Of course I did. I loved my father.”

“Then you have to let me-!”

“I’m not finished,” Miroku cut her off.  His eyes were locked on hers. His jaw clenched, throat worked. “My father was given the Shikon, and I was taken to Naraku. I was terrified, but I felt like I’d done the right thing. Naraku was about to give me a dose before my mother finally found me, pushed me out of the way… and the needle hit her instead.”

“Oh Miroku…”

He seemed deaf to her sympathetic exhale. “She d-died in only a minute, in which she told me to run away and help my father. I blasted them with all the spiritual energy I had and took off. When I got home, I found my father dead in his bed.”

The breath caught in Kagome’s chest as Miroku’s eyes intensified, widening, pleading. “Don’t you understand? Naraku shows no mercy! At this point, he won’t hesitate to kill you or Inuyasha. He’s done this before and he’ll do it again. As soon as you’re not useful to him, he’ll take you out of shackles and slaughter you where you stand.”

“I-I…” 

“It’s the second dosage that my father got in trade for me that killed him. If I hadn’t gone, if I’d just trusted in my father’s strength to survive the night, they’d both be alive right now!” His hands gripped her shoulders, not in a way that hurt, but not gently either. “It may feel noble, but all this will do is get both you and Inuyasha killed. If you care about Inuyasha at all, you’ll stay and ignore what Kikyo said. Inuyasha the strongest man I’ve ever met.  _ He will make it _ .”

The fear that had been crashing through her seemed to calm like the sea after a storm, and Kagome gave a shudder. “O-okay. You’re right. Okay. I...I’m so sorry.”

Finally, his shoulders relaxed, and his hands loosened. Miroku breathed out deeply, and then gathered her up in his arms. “I understand, Kagome. It’ll be okay.” 

He hugged her for a minute, tightly, and then backed up with a tired smile. “Now how about you get back in there and get some rest on the couch?”

Kagome nodded quickly, blinking away tears before they could escape. “O-okay.”

He led her back into the room, where she curled up in the old, cushy loveseat in the corner. Miroku took her place at Inuyasha’s side, checking his friend’s fever and replacing the cold compress. 

“Miroku?” she said feeling drowsiness settle in her eyes. 

“Hmm?”

“Thank you. For saving my life.”

The old Miroku smile seemed to be back again. He stood, rummaging for a moment in the drawer next to the bed until he found a blanket that he tenderly spread over her. “Anything for such a loyal friend as you. Have a good sleep. I love you.”

“Love you too,” she told Miroku without hesitation, falling asleep with a smile.

 


	11. Chapter 11

Annoyingly and predictably, Inuyasha was grumpily raring to go by morning.

“Gimme outta here,” he grumbled as soon as his eyes cracked open. “Need to find Naraku and give him acupuncture with butcher knives.” But then he gave a gasp and whimper, curling up slightly. “Oh damn, not better…”

“Inuyasha’s awake!” Shippo was cheering, thrusting up his fists and hopping around. Sango was smiling widely, and Kagome pretended not to notice Sango squeeze Miroku’s hand.

“He said you should survive if you make it through the night,” Miroku said tiredly. “He didn’t say you’d be all better.”

“I do not have time to not be better!” Inuyasha hissed, before another groan. “Ugh, what even happened last night? I don’t remember hardly anything…”

Kagome felt heat creep into her cheeks at the thought of his loose mouth last night. “Probably better that way. Now wait so that we can get the doctor in here to check you out.”

“I don’t need a doctor; I need Shippo to tell me what plan he’d come up with!” he barked back. The intensity of the action caused a fit of pained coughing. 

Biting her lip, Kagome pushed his bangs from his eyes. “Take it easy, Inuyasha. If you want something, ask for it nicely and calmly, or it’ll hurt. Then again, you should be asking nicely just because it’s the right thing to do.” She shot him a sharp look, under which he backed to the headrest.

“Fine, fine,” he muttered, clutching at his stomach and taking slow breaths. “Shippo-”

The door was thrown open, causing them all to jump. “Is he still awake?” demanded a voice, and Kagome turned to see Sesshomaru striding into the room. He was in his Police Commander’s uniform, hair tied back and glowing eyes sharp.

“Um, yeah,” Kagome stammered, and Inuyasha just gave an irritated glare.

“I don’t have any more info on Naraku since last time we discussed him,” said Inuyasha. 

“I know,” Sesshomaru told him stiffly. “The monk keeps me informed.”

“ _ What?!  _ Miroku-!”

“What have the doctors said?” the demon cut them off. “Has the worst passed?”

“They haven’t come in yet,” Sango said, and as she did, the door opened. 

The group waited outside as the staff gave Inuyasha a full check up. In this time, Kagome squinted up at the stoic Sesshomaru. “Is that the reason you came? To check on Inuyasha?”

There was a pause. “I do not need to explain my reasons to you, Higurashi-san.”

_ Finally back to my name!  _ she internally cheered.

Miroku smirked. “No need to get so  _ defensive _ , Commander Tashio.”

Jaw clenching, Sesshomaru muttered, “To think I’ve been reduced to petty teasing…” After he cleared his throat, he continued, “I need all the information I can get about his condition and Kikyo’s involvement, as the monk had mentioned. There was an emergency at the police station last night, so I was not able to stay and speak to the doctor. And because of said emergency… the Naraku situation, I’m afraid to say, is significantly worse.”

Now that Kagome looked harder, she could make out darker circles under his usually regal face. His eyes were tired, a little bloodshot. He must’ve been up all night. 

It was Sango that said, aghast, “ _ Worse? _ How could it be worse?!”

But the doctor exited the room at this point. With a smile, he delivered, “He’s still in pain, but we gave him another dose of medication. Inuyasha will be just fine; we’re impressed at how he made it through the night. Survivors report nightmares and night terrors along with the pain so that some actually die from fright. Inuyasha doesn’t seem fazed other than the pain--he’s a brave kid. You’ve got a little brother to be proud of, Commander.”

There was a heavy pause. Trying not to smirk, Kagome watched as Sesshomaru was backed into a corner. If he didn’t say he was proud, he would seem like a bad brother in front of the doctor, and he needed to hold the respect of people in the city he protected. On the other hand, he’d admit that he cared.

Finally, he answered coolly, “Yes.” And he swept off into the room. After thanking the doctor, the Inugami followed.

Kagome sat back beside Inuyasha, hoping that he didn’t seem as stoned as yesterday. To her relief, he was resting in a sitting position while grimacing at a bowl of chicken noodle soup. Sesshomaru stood with his arms crossed over his chest, waiting for them to sit down before he told them, “To answer the girl’s question as to how things can get worse, I’ll tell you that I lost thirty officers last night.”

Even Inuyasha’s jaw dropped. “Lost?” choked Shippo. “You mean…?”

“Fifteen were murdered, and the other fifteen were traitors that led them to their death at the hands of Spiders,” Sesshomaru said, his voice lower than usual. Which was somehow even more terrifying than usual. “Thirty is nearly half of my officers. The rest are working themselves overtime taking care of the usual crimes, and many officers that were lost were detectives or specialized in organized crime.”

“How the hell did that happen? And all in one night?” Inuyasha demanded.

“I left yesterday and went directly to the station.” A hesitation. “I gathered up my officers for an emergency briefing and began demanding the traitors to turn themselves in. I hadn’t before because I knew a backlash would come from Naraku in some way, but… I didn’t care last night.”

Kagome heard the words left unspoken:  _ I was angry because they hurt my brother. _

And judging from Inuyasha’s wide eyes, he heard them too.

“When that happened, we suddenly started getting calls of Spider attacks throughout the city. My officers left in pairs to the scenes, all in very spread out parts of the city, and, well, it turns out they were the targets. The traitors revealed themselves by assisting in the murders, or at least, so it seems.” Sesshomaru sounded so tired as he dragged a clawed hand down his face. “Naraku was just waiting for me to confront the dirty police. I should have known. He’s gotten very bold since Higurashi-san unleashed her spiritual powers on him.”

Inuyasha put on a grim face, trying to hide his wince as he sat up straighter. “We have to act now, before he makes his next move. We’ve lost too many officers now for much support from the police; Shippo, we need to hear whatever plan you came up with.”

Shippo shied away slightly, especially under the cold stare of Sesshomaru and the intensity of the other Inugami. Kagome gave him an encouraging smile. “It’s okay if the plan isn’t perfect, Shippo. We’d just like to hear whatever ideas you have; you’re very smart.”

That did the trick. He brightened, clearing his throat and saying, “Inuyasha said something earlier about asking nicely for their location, and when I thought about it, I realized that’s exactly what we have to do.”

“Meaning?” prompted Inuyasha impatiently.

“ _ Meaning _ one of us would have to go in disguise to get their attention and talk to one of them, pretend that they want to join the gang,” Shippo went on, leaning forward and gesturing with his hands. “We’d have to disguise their scent as someone else in case other demon Spiders are around, but we could pull it off.”

Shaking his head and crossing his arms, Miroku pointed out, “The Spider would surely make them take a dose of Shikon to prove that they’re serious about joining.”

“Of course,” Shippo said. “And that’s why the person undercover would have to be Kagome.”

A pause.

“No,” Inuyasha blurted. “Absolutely not.”

Kagome fidgeted, nerves fluttering in her gut. “W-well… he’s right, Inuyasha. I’m the only one that’s immune. And less of the demon Spiders know even my original scent than they know the scent of the rest of you.”

“Too dangerous,” said Inuyasha, finally taking sips of his soup. “Out of the question.”

“You need to have more faith in her!” Shippo scolded. Kagome smirked; Shippo had Inuyasha trapped.

At this, Inuyasha choked on his soup. “I-I do have faith in her! I have more faith in Kagome than anyone else in the world!”

“Aww,” Sango and Miroku cooed, and Inuyasha chucked a balled-up napkin at them.

“Then why don’t you think she can do this?” responded Shippo, trying to hide a grin.

“Of course she could! But it’s dangerous! We’d need more backup to keep an eye on her, and a good location to do so!”

“Easy,” he said, shrugging. “Gehenna. All gangs go there peacefully, and so they won’t notice us patrolling. Kagome can wear a wig, some colored contacts. Also, apparently she can dance, so if she does it sexy enough-”

“My gosh,” Kagome muttered, putting her face in her hands.

“-then she should have no trouble getting the attention of a Spider guy, because she’s so pretty too,” the fox demon finished, nonchalant.

“Even if I was willing to  _ consider _ having Kagome used as bait for sick guys to drool and fantasize over,” Inuyasha growled, “We still don’t have a way to hide her scent or enough backup to protect her in case things go to shit. And things  _ always _ go to shit.”

“Also easy,” Shippo said. “But you won’t like it.”

“I already hate all of it. It could hardly be worse.”

“Since we don’t have enough police anymore,” stated Shippo. “We’ll have to go with the Wolves.”

“Somehow, you made it worse. What talent!”

Putting a hand on his arm, Kagome suggested gently, “Let’s just hear him out, Inuyasha.”

Before he could protest more, Shippo went on earnestly, “Koga is passionate about protecting Kagome and defeating Naraku. I know you don’t like it, but it could be used to our advantage! We could negotiate a temporary alliance and get him to go along with it. Also, we could use the brute force and numbers of the Wolves to take down the hideout once we find out where it is. Also, they could disguise her scent so that she smells like a Wolf, which would still be plausible for her to be at the club and wanting to join a new gang.”

“Okay, first of all in this plan’s terrible flaws-” Inuyasha began with a hiss, but Sesshomaru interrupted.  
“It’s a logical plan,” he admitted. “The best we can come up with under the circumstances. I say do it.”

“I agree,” Miroku said, lifting his hands diplomatically. “Covers all the bases. Good job, Shippo.”

Sango nodded. “Likewise here. But only if Kagome is okay with it.”

“I’ll do it,” Kagome sighed. “Like Sango said, we need to finish this, and I certainly don’t have any better ideas.”

“Doesn’t anyone want to hear if  _ I  _ agree?” fumed Inuyasha.

“Not really.”

“Ha. No.”

“We know you don’t. Eat your soup.”

“Don’t care.”

“You disagree with everything that isn’t said by you.”

Ignoring them, Inuyasha began counting off on his fingers. “I will not be able to stand Kagome smelling like a mangy wolf, I will not ask for help from that wild, psycho asshole, I don’t trust anything Spiders will tell her, Kagome shouldn’t be objectified by a bunch of douchebags for our plan, and we don’t know if her immunity is only a temporary thing.”

Shippo mimicked his motions. “Suck it up, suck it up, we have no better options, if Kagome can deal with it, so can you, and Naraku, the  _ creator of the drug _ , seems to think it is. If Kagome is willing to take the risk, you should trust her to do so.”

“I have a  _ terrible _ feeling about this,” Inuyasha warned.

Miroku’s eyebrows raised, “Are you saying that you’re unable to protect her?”

“Of course I can protect her!”

“Then stop worrying and focus on resting so that you can get better and we can end this,” Sango finished for him. 

He looked like he wanted to argue further, but another wave of coughing and swearing overtook him. Everyone in the room took a step towards him at once.

“Why isn’t the medication helping?” Sesshomaru seethed, marching over to the IV station. “Doctor!”

“It’s fine,” Inuyasha muttered. “Morphine is addictive too, right? They probably don’t wanna overdo it.”

“And they wouldn’t want to give as much as they did last night,” sniggered Shippo.

Inuyasha frowned. “What?”

Kagome turned his face down to the tray over his legs. “Eat your soup.”

* * *

“So you know where the Wolf hideout is?” Kagome asked. She held her arms to ward off the chill of the spring air as the Inugami made their way down a road she hadn’t seen before.

Almost as if it were a subconscious action, Inuyasha took off his jacket and put it over her shoulders. “It’s pretty common knowledge. It doesn’t matter if people know; Naraku knows he has no chance of taking the Den.”

Kagome eyed him from the side warily. He’d been released from the hospital a week and a half ago, and didn’t seem to being showing any signs of pain. But she also knew he would be good at hiding it. Putting her arms through the leather jacket’s sleeves, she kicked at a stray rock with her boot. “Why can’t he?”

Miroku answered, “Naraku has always envied the loyalty and raw power the Wolves have; almost all of them are wolf demons, and anyone else is a spouse, significant other, adoptive sibling or child of a wolf demon. Since Wolves don’t cause much trouble for the police, Sesshomaru leaves them be, and they guard their Den zealously, night and day. It’s a fortress death trap to a Spider.”

“O-or us?” Shippo said nervously, eyes flickering around the wooded area. It was strange, right in the middle of the city.

“We have Kagome,” Miroku countered. “Koga wouldn’t bother to harm us. He probably already knows we’re here. All of this random wooded area is his most protected territory.”

“Yes, what is with the random woods?” wondered Kagome aloud.

Sango shrugged. “Makes them feel more at home, I suppose. Koga legally owns all of this, so he turned it into woods. He’s loaded, if you couldn’t tell, from being their Alpha and all for such a long time.”

“I see. And, um, Miroku, what did you mean by he probably already knows we’re here?” The ominous phrase had echoed in her mind.

His dark eyes glanced about them. “He has eyes all over the woods; not just the Den. The fact that we haven’t been stopped is a good sign.” 

Inuyasha lifted his head and gave a sniff. “Right up here, around this treeline.”

Sure enough, as they turned the corner, the Den came into sight down a worn, gravel path. Kagome’s hand flew to her mouth; it was  _ beautiful _ .

The land sloped upward until it had formed a cliff, out of which had been carved winding turrets. Kagome could see more towers and a roof that rose nearly sixty meters up, and the front door was a waterfall that emptied into a glistening pool. 

“It’s gorgeous!” Kagome exclaimed. She’d expected a beat up house, but this…

“Don’t go gettin’ too excited,” muttered Inuyasha, upper lip twitching like it did when he was pissed. 

Kagome rolled her eyes. “Well, I’m not saying I’d like to build a summer home here, but the trees are actually quite lovely.”

There were little wolf demons splashing in the crystal pond, laughing and growling and wrestling on the shore. A pair of parents watched them as they shared some drinks and a rather raw-looking rotisserie chicken.

They made their way to the edge of the pool, where there was a rustle in nearby trees before  Ginta and Hakkaku appeared, offering friendly grins. 

“Hello, sister!” greeted Ginta. “You’ve never come to visit before; good to see ya!”

“Sister?” Inuyasha hissed. She ignored him.

“Nice to see you too, Ginta, Hakkaku. I was wondering if we could speak with Koga today. We have a proposition for him that we think he’ll want to hear.”

“Yeah, we already asked him if you guys could come in,” Hakkaku told her, waving a hand. “He said sure, but all weapons need to be left out here, and quote: ‘ _ the mutt will have to try to be nicer to me _ .’”

“And he’ll have to freeze over hell for me,” muttered Inuyasha in response, but he took the empty gun from his holster and threw it to the side along with the dagger in his boot. Kagome abandoned her switchblade, and Miroku and Shippo shrugged. They didn’t have anything.

Sango, on the other hand, somehow produced two daggers, six switchblades, a bladed boomerang, a taser, a stun gun, two handguns, a pocket knife, and a container of pepper spray before she was finished.

The two Wolves led them right to the pool, where a mossy pathway met the rocks to the side of the waterfall. Kagome smiled at the roar of the water, the droplets that sprayed her side as they ducked in the side of the falls. After walking through the narrow cave passage, the group spilled into a room that resembled a cathedral, if cathedrals were carved from solid rock and underground. The dome at the top opened to the sky. Under the dome was a clear, circular pool of what must be rainwater that fell through the ceiling. Spiraling columns stretched up and lined the uneven floor of scattered slabs of stone, where Wolves sat and played and laughed on cushions. A little cafe with sandwiches, drinks, and ice cream was immediately at her left with tables spread about. When Kagome turned, she could see television screens occupying the walls on the right side; one group of Wolves were watching  _ Twilight _ and moaning about wolf misrepresentation, another shouting at a soccer game, and the third group were some wolf demon children avidly exclaiming over what looked like  _ Voltron: Legendary Defender _ . Bookshelves lined the wall on the left, stationed in between more cave passageways where she could see stairways leading down into the unknown.

“The doors on the sides lead off to residential areas and bathhouse,” Ginta told them vaguely. “This is just where we chill. Aaaaand… where Koga usually stays! Hey there, boss!”

They’d reached the back of the room, where a stone throne sat atop some steps, cushioned with blue and silver. Koga lounged there, tapping at a laptop until he heard his name called and looked up. His hair down today, and it messily spread down to his back. His headband kept most of it out of his face, but some strands managed to drift across it from the breeze that wafted in from the roof. Other than that, Koga just wore blue jeans, and a loose, gray tank top. Kagome hadn’t noticed before, but there was a tattoo on his left bicep: An alpha symbol over a the face of a wolf and the kanji symbol for “wolf.”

A grin stretched on his face, and he put his computer aside. “My dear Kagome has come for a visit! I knew you would get tired of the mutt, eventually.”

“Shut your trap before I do it for you in most excruciating ways,” was Inuyasha’s response.

Kagome’s jaw clenched. “It’s okay, Inuyasha. He’s just trying to annoy you.” She spoke up louder. “Hello, Koga-kun. We have come to make an offer to you.”

His dark, thin eyebrows raised. “Oh? Well, anything my woman has to say shall be cherished by me. Would you like a tour of my most humble abode, first? This Den was carved out by my pack’s own claws in 1912. I could even show you the  _ Alpha suite _ .”

“I. Want. To. Break. Everything. I. See,” Inuyasha hissed under his breath.

“Even me?” Kagome whispered back, to which he snapped out of his growling and shook his head in horror. She hid a laugh and turned back to Koga. “That’s very generous of you, Koga, but I think you’ll want to hear this as soon as possible. It’s about Naraku.”

That sobered him up. “Have you found his location?”

“No, but we know how to get it,” boasted Inuyasha, crossing his arms over his chest and tilting up his chin. Kagome rolled her eyes; as if it were  _ his _ idea.

Koga’s startlingly blue eyes lazily slid to Inuyasha in distaste. “Mutt. You’re lucky I even let you in here; I did it for Kagome, and  _ she _ is the only one of you who will speak to me, got it? This is my castle, my rules.”

Inuyasha started forward, snapping out, “Castle? You mean this rockslide dump?” But Kagome grabbed the back of his collar and tugged him back. 

Shooting Koga a withering glare, Kagome was struck by a hot anger that declared, “Inuyasha is my  _ friend _ and deserves your  _ respect _ . You  _ will _ call him by his name and you  _ will _ allow him to speak, along with the rest of my friends, even if it’s for my sake, or you will not be involved in getting your revenge for your pack on Naraku. Are we  _ clear? _ ”

Koga just blinked, slumping back into his seat. “Wow. That was a real turn on, not gonna lie.”

“ _ Koga _ .”

“I’ll agree to your terms for the time being,” he sighed. “But you humans had better keep him on a leash.” Kagome rolled her eyes, figuring that this was about as good as it would get.

“Turn on,” Inuyasha muttered, seething and scuffing his boots against the stone ground, “-dare he talk that way ‘bout her… I’ll turn on a meat grinder… shove him down balls first…”   
“Ew,” Sango whispered.

“So Koga, Shippo here came up with a plan that should get us the information we need,” began Kagome.

Koga’s smirk was trying at her patience. “And let me guess… the knitting club needs  _ me _ to pull it off.  _ My pack _ .” He let out laugh, kicking back so that his head rested on the right arm of the chair and his feet swung back and forth out the other side. He tugged lazily at the end of his tail. “Hmm… Inuyasha needs  _ my _ help…I could consider it. For my dear woman, of course. But first, tell me about this plan. I can assure you, my airtight Den is safe to discuss such top secret information. And very safe and comfortable to live in. And get married in; we have this lovely aisle down the middle and I could build a second throne for you right here. I could provide for you,” his eyes flicked to Inuyasha with mirth, and back to Kagome with intent hunger, “so easily and in any way you desire. You’d be a queen.”

“Five seconds from tearing his tail off,” Inuyasha warned stiffly.

Miroku murmured to him, “Remember what we talked about… count to ten, breathe…”

“No death. No violence. Just flowers. Puppies. Kagome in that red dress you drool over,” Shippo listed, and Kagome wasn’t sure if he was actually trying to help or not. Sure enough, Inuyasha was now blushing on top of seething, so Kagome quickly cut in and began to describe the plan.

“-and when we get the location, we can leave and head on off to bust Naraku,” finished Kagome after a few minutes of explaining. 

Koga was sitting upright in his throne now, eyes narrowed in thought. “Well, that sounds like the best chance we got. And you definitely wouldn’t be safe enough without coming to me for help, or have enough brute force.”

“Yeah okay, will you join us or not?” snapped Inuyasha. 

At this, the Alpha leaned forward. “What’s in it for me?”

“Isn’t your revenge enough?” Sango pointed out. “And helping to keep Kagome safe.”

“Yeah, that’s nice,” admitted Koga, “But I need something more.”

With a weary sigh, Miroku asked, “What do you want, Koga?”

“Just Kagome.”

Inuyasha grabbed her arm and began to pull back the way they’d came, dragging her along. “Nope. That’s it. Bye. We need to leave before I slit his throat.”

“Why is that what everyone wants?” groaned Shippo. “One purpose of this plan is to get people to leave Kagome alone!”

Digging her heels into the rock, Kagome, tugged back on Inuyasha. “Wait! Let’s rethink this. Maybe we can come up with a compromise.”

“Kagome is right. We’ve come this far,” Miroku reasoned. 

Inuyasha stomped back over to Miroku and grabbed his ear. “Whatchu say?!”

“We need this, Inuyasha,” Miroku whispered heatedly, trying to smack Inuyasha’s hand away. “We can’t fight Naraku’s might on our own!”

“Yes we can!”

Finally pulling free of Inuyasha, Miroku held a hand to his chest. “No. It’s irrational. It’s impossible. It’s against my religion.”

“Mir _ oku! _ ”

“What exactly do you want from Kagome, Koga?” tried Miroku, turning back to the Wolf leader.

He smirked. “For her to join my pack, of course. I need a strong woman and she’s my type. She has spiritual powers that are stronger than any mere female demon; any child we had would be a very worthy heir.”

“Whoa, what?” Kagome squeaked, stumbling back and gripping Inuyasha’s arm. 

Miroku held a hand up to silence Inuyasha, who had started to growl ferally. “While I personally understand the great need to have a strong woman that will bear you children-”

“Miroku!” Sango hissed.

“-I’m afraid Kagome is spoken for. I’m sure there are plenty of strong wolf demon women that would be willing to accept your proposition. Perhaps there’s something we can do that will solve a different problem you have?”

Slowly, Koga stroked his chin and considered. “Well, I take care of my pack’s own problems. But maybe if Inutrasha admitted that wolves are better than dogs and I’m stronger than him and Kagome went on a date with me, I’d consider it.”

“Not as dumb as he looks,” Shippo said quietly, seemingly impressed. “Giving us a high price first so that this one doesn’t seem so bad.”

“He’s also mentally five years old,” added Sango. “Wolves are better than dogs? Seriously?”

Inuyasha listed off of his fingers as he articulated, “First of all, no. Second of all, no. Third of all, hell no. Forth, go fuck yourself.”

“Inuyasha,” stressed Kagome, “we should just take it right there, before he makes it worse.”

“I will not leave you alone with that bastard who thinks he owns you, Kagome.” His amber eyes blazed. “Also, wolves are jackasses and I’m way more badass.”

She rolled her eyes, but admitted to herself that he had a point; she did not want to be left alone for long with Koga. He thought he had some sort of right to her, and that was a dangerous thought. 

“How about,” ventured Kagome, “Inuyasha says those things and I’ll give you a hug?”

Koga’s mouth twitched. “Hmm. Make it a kiss and you’ve got a deal.”

“You are such a  _ creep!” _ Inuyasha shouted at the same time Kagome said, “I’ll do it.”

“What?” said Inuyasha in a strangled voice. “Wh-what do you mean you’ll do it?!”

Koga was grinning. “Let me tell my Betas to prepare the pack for tonight, and I expect your end of the bargain when I get back.”

And with a flash of blue and silver, he was gone down a cave tunnel by his throne.

The Inugami rounded on her. 

“How could you agree to that?” Inuyasha demanded.

Miroku put up his hands diplomatically. “Much better than becoming his wife. Well done, Kagome.”

“Yuck,” muttered Shippo.

“Are you sure about this, Kagome?” Sango asked tentatively. “You don’t have to do that. It’s rather violating; we can find another way.”

“It’s no big deal,” Kagome laughed nervously. “There isn’t a better way, and we have to stop Naraku as quickly as possible. This is a small price to pay. Though I wish… I mean…” Kagome felt heat rise up her face. “I just wish my first didn’t have to be like this.”

Miroku blinked. “First?”  
“Oh Kagome.” Sango grimaced. “That _is_ a crappy first kiss.”

“Well, it could be worse,” Kagome reasoned weakly. “I’m doing it for a good cause, even if I wish my first wasn’t Koga-”

“It won’t be with Koga,” interrupted Inuyasha.

“Huh?”

“It won’t be with him,” he repeated, bright eyes meeting hers in determination. Before Kagome could ask what he meant by that, Inuyasha pulled her flush to him and suddenly he was kissing her. Arms around her impossibly tight, sliding up her back in a way that made her knees weak. And she was kissing him back, fingers sifting through his hair and running along his sharp jaw, and his mouth was soft and warm and he was so strong and every inch of her was on fire and he kissed her again, and then again-

And he gently broke away, setting his forehead against hers and letting his arms loosen. Kagome clutched the front of his jacket, trying to get a full thought in her mind to form, but everything was buzzing as if drunk. She was surprised when she managed to process him murmur, “There. Your first was me.”

Kagome stared at him, right into his hazy eyes of liquid gold, caught between the desires to scream, pass out, or kiss him again.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, the debt was paid to the Wolves and the Inugami was walking quickly away from the Den. It would have taken less time, but Inuyasha had needed about ten tries before he managed to grumble out, as if it were physically painful, “Wolves… better than… dogs. You...Koga, more… strong..than...me.”

Luckily, Kagome’s payment to Koga hadn’t taken as long.

While the boys walked on up ahead, Shippo and Miroku discussing strategy while Inuyasha sniffed the air in front of them, Sango leaned over to Kagome. “So… how was it? With Koga? How bad?”

Biting her lip, Kagome gave a small shrug. “Oh, it wasn’t that bad. I mean, I wasn’t real happy about it, but he was a good kisser.” Then Kagome moved closer to Sango and whispered, “But… he’s got absolutely  _ nothing _ on Inuyasha.”

Though Kagome had tried to be quiet in saying so, she noticed Inuyasha’s ear flick back to face the front, as if it had been pointed at her. The moment after, she heard Miroku say, “What are you looking so smug about, Inuyasha?”

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

“Maybe we should add a tail?”

Kagome squirmed under the scrutinizing gaze of her friends. Sango had a hand on her chin, contemplating, and Miroku looked to her for an answer to is inquiry. Miroku was looking her up and down, which was starting to make Kagome want to pull a Sango and slap him across the face. Shippo frowned at the wig Kagome was holding. Inuyasha wasn’t looking at her at all, pouting childishly with his arms crossed on the bed and staring at the wall.

“She’s going as a wolf demon girlfriend,” Sango said, squinting, “not a  _ furry _ .”

There was a collective shiver from the demon and half demon at the word “furry”.

“What are you all so scared of?” scoffed Sango. “How can you be creeped out by furries when Inuyasha has doggy ears and Shippo has a poofy fox tail?”

“These are real!” Inuyasha protested, moving his ears right and left with emphasis and pointing at Shippo’s tail. “People that pretend to have them are disturbed or somethin’!”

Shippo shook his head, stroking his own tail. “They always try to touch my tail. They pretend to be fox demons all the time! It’s annoying!”

Giving a huff, Kagome said, “Anyway, does the wig look real enough? And the contacts are blue, right?”

Miroku nodded. “Yep. The dark brown looks realistic enough with your skin tone, and they’d know it can’t be Kagome because it’s so long and you cut yours short. Should feel real, because it’s a super expensive one using real hair. The contacts will make your eyes stand out with the dress well, and you’d pass for someone that wants to be a Spider when you wear the black. Maybe we could hem it shorter a bit, though-OW!”

After bonking Miroku on the head, Inuyasha gave her a once over too. “Yeah,” he muttered. “It won’t look like you.”

“I’m lucky this is my size,” Kagome said, looking down at the strapless, black dress in her right hand that seemed much more like a shirt to Kagome. It hardly looked like it would cover as much as she was comfortable with, but for the plan to work, she needed any sex appeal she could manage. The dress had been lent to her by a friendly Wolf, who’d said it hadn’t been washed since she’d worn it last, so it still held her scent. Kagome would want a shower as soon as she got home. “Okay, I’ll add some perfume to throw it off some more. I’ll try to pick a Spider boy that isn’t a demon. You guys will have to help me with that.”

“Right you are,” Miroku said, rubbing his sore head. “Show us again when you’re wearing it. Also, you’ll need a cover name.”

Shippo narrowed his eyes. “Serena.” The rest of them looked at him blankly. “What? It’s a hot name.”

Kagome didn’t mind. “Okay. Serena it is.”

Miroku turned to Inuyasha. “Okay, Inuyasha, your turn for a wig.”

“I told you, I won’t wear one of those!” he fumed. 

“Sango, Miroku, and I should be fine with our normal hair colors, but your white hair, weird eyes, and ears are way too noticeable,” argued Shippo. “We’ll cut holes for your ears and you can wear a Wolf bandana over them. You need to hide that you don’t have human ears, too.”

“We got you a nice one,” said Sango. “Now let me tie some of your hair into ponytails. You need it cut again, by the way. It’s everywhere. Just stay still.”

While Sango worked on Inuyasha’s disguise, Kagome packed a more comfortable outfit and shoes to change into as soon as she got the info she needed. Luckily, Kagome’s mother was working late tonight so that she wouldn’t see what Kagome was wearing. The rest of the Inugami were already dressed. 

Breathing out shallowly, Kagome splashed some water on her face from her bathroom sink, and then used some of the water on her hands to gather her excess hair into bunches that would be shoved under the wig. She then swung the wig over her head and began securing it into place. Next were the contacts. 

Looking up at herself was disorienting; the brown hair, bright, blue eyes, and face pale from nerves. “I can do this,” she muttered, squeezing her eyes shut. “I have to do this. I will do this.”

Honestly, her main problem was that Kagome didn’t really know how to do  _ sexy _ . But all she had to do was her best impression of sexy for about an hour and then they’d be home free. 

Sango peered into the open door, knocking on the frame. “Hey there, you good? You’re looking kind of blanched.”

Managing a weak smile, she gripped the sink. “I’m fine. I can do this.”

“Of course you can,” Sango said firmly. “Here, let me get you some water and then I’ll do your makeup, okay? I’ll probably lay it on thicker than you’re used to, so bring some makeup wipes with your change of clothes.”

“Got it,” Kagome breathed as Sango left, and rummaged for the remover.

When she looked up from her drawer, she was met with green eyes and an unfamiliar, brunette haircut. But the face was recognizable enough.

“Wow,” she said, impressed. Kagome leaned against the counter on her hip to get a better look at him in the doorway. He was wearing a black jacket blue shirt, bandana over his ears like some sort of biker, and the same boots. “You do  _ not _ look like you.”

He didn’t respond to that, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Kagome… look, I didn’t mean to boss you around before or make decisions for you. I just...you don’t have to do this. I don’t want you to feel like you have no other choice. If this makes you uncomfortable, we’ll figure something else out-”

“No,” Kagome cut him off, startling him. “I’m not rethinking this; I’m only nervous because I want to do this well.  _ I am going to do this _ . I am  _ tired _ of Naraku hurting and playing his sick games. Tonight, we will take him down once and for all, and whatever I have to do, I’m going to be a part of it, and he is going to wish he never harmed a hair on the head of my friends or the man I love! Now prepare to fight and avenge your parents, because tonight is the night we’re going to outplay Naraku, and I am  _ proud _ to be a piece in the game.”

Inuyasha’s eyes were round, mouth slightly parted. Kagome kept her face set and fierce… until she realized fully what she’s said. Either all the blood had rushed to her face, or it had drained completely. She wasn’t quite sure.  _ The man I love. _

“Whoa,” was his response in a choked voice. “You’re-um… Um, I mean… wait… the man you…?”

At this moment, Sango rushed into the room. “Out, Inuyasha! Girl time to make her look sleazy.”

He yelped as he was pushed out of the bathroom, and Sango shut the door behind him. Kagome squeezed Sango into a hug. “You saved my life!”

“What? Why?”

In a blushing rush, Kagome explained what she’d said to Inuyasha.

“Wow, Kags!” said Sango in a hushed voice. “You really accidentally went for it! But… you didn’t specify who this man was?”

“No…” she answered warily.

Sango banged her head against the counter. “He’s going to think it’s not him.”

“Why would he think that? Who else could it be?” argued Kagome.

Giving a shrug, Sango offered, “Koga?”

“I told Inuyasha that I don’t like Koga like that. And my dislike of him is pretty obvious to everyone except Koga.”

“It could be anyone, really. Miroku’s insightful; he once told me that Inuyasha has a hard time believing anyone could love him. Unless you tell him right out, he won’t think it’s him.”

Kagome’s heart sank at the words. “I… I can’t stand how he can think that. Once you know him, he’s easy to love.”

Sango gave a sad smile. “Yeah, I know. But after all the years… It’s not hard to see why he thinks that way.” Squinting over at the door, she whispered, “So… we’re gonna eavesdrop on the boys, right?”

“Absolutely.”

The girls rushed to the door and put their ears to it, where they could just make out Miroku’s small laugh of, “Well, now you know what Koga meant when he said her fierceness was a turn on.”

“Shut up!” Inuyasha hissed. 

“Kind of kinky, Inuyasha, to get hot and bothered because she got aggressive,” Shippo snickered.

“I am  _ not _ hot and bothered! I’m surprised, okay?”

“Oh really? You’re looking very uncomfortable  _ downstairs _ .”

“Shut up before I make you. She said… something, and…”

“Yeah, we heard it from out here,” Miroku said lightly, “what with how intense she was being. The man she loves, huh?”

Inuyasha became quiet. “Do… do you think…? I mean… Koga offered her to live in such a pretty place, said he wanted to marry her…” he trailed off, but then tried for a save. “I-I mean, pfft, of course not! She wouldn’t fall for a moron like Koga...”

Kagome narrowed her eyes, annoyed. So Sango was right. Honestly, how shallow-?

“How shallow do you think Kagome is, Inuyasha?” Shippo said, sounding irritated. 

“I-I don’t think she’s-!”

“You’re acting like you do,” Miroku interrupted. “Kagome doesn’t care about material offers, and she certainly has higher standards than a man who persists when she doesn’t express interest and acts like he owns her. You should know by now, as her best friend, what she really cares about in a man.”

“ _ Thank _ you,” Kagome muttered, giving a firm nod. 

Sango was smiling hazily. “That’s my boy.”

Inuyasha spoke up again outside. “I-I know she cares about more than that… I guess… I just…”

“You don’t think you have much to offer?” Miroku finished lazily. 

Inuyasha sputtered, “I-I never said… anything about me!”

“You didn’t need to,” scoffed Shippo. “It’s so obvious how crazy you are for her and you get jealous of Koga because you’re worried that he might be a better catch than you.”

“You should shut up about stuff you don’t know about, kit!”

“Oh, but he does know,” sighed Miroku. “You know, ladies find reasonable confidence attractive. If you don’t think you’re good enough, it makes no sense for her to think you are. It’s not her job to fix you; fix yourself.”

“I never said it was! What the hell is that supposed to mean, Miroku?”

Kagome’s eyes were wide at this point, completely astounded that they were even talking about this. 

Miroku seemed to be getting frustrated. “Have some confidence! Know that you  _ are _ worthy of her!” Miroku proclaimed. “Love yourself for a damn change, Inuyasha, or you’ll be too focused on being angry at yourself to give all of you to another person--to put them first in your heart, and your mind. So you’re a hanyo. So some people don’t like it and don’t accept it. So maybe you have a hard time changing your thinking because of people in your past that mistreated you. Well you know what?  _  Fuck them!” _

“Damn,” Sango said, impressed. 

Inuyasha was stumbling in his speech. “I-I don’t care what they think!”

“This may be easy for me to say, hard for you to do, but,” Miroku’s voice got lower, “that doesn’t mean I’m not right.  _ Nothing _ that happened to you in the past or present gives you the right to be an asshole to anyone or think less of them, and ‘anyone’ includes yourself.”

“I-I-”

But Miroku kept going. “If you don’t care what they think, then prove it; stop thinking lesser of yourself for being half demon and half human! Kagome thinks you’re perfect the way you were born, so do we, and you should too, because you came into the world  _ the way you were meant to be _ .”

To this, Inuyasha didn’t respond.

“I didn’t know guy talks could get this real,” Sango said, hand over her mouth. 

“That was…” Kagome whispered, “...weirdly  _ adorable _ .”

None of the boys spoke after that, so Kagome mournfully discarded her jeans and t-shirt for the tiny black dress. From there, Sango got to work on Kagome’s face. After about ten minutes, she glanced at the clock on her phone. “We should probably get going, Kagome.”

“Alright,” Kagome breathed, pushing her (fake) hair over her shoulder. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, and froze. “I… look like a prostitute.”

“A highly paid prostitute,” Sango corrected, beaming. “A prostitute that can afford good quality beauty products, doesn’t go crazy with the rouge, and gets hired by royalty.”

“...was that supposed to make me feel better?” Kagome grimaced, wishing she could be wearing what Sango had on instead: a pink dress that had actual straps and reached mid thigh.

Sango grabbed Kagome’s hand, sprayed her with some perfume that made her choke, and dragged her to the room. “I present a royal prostitute!”

Three mouths dropped open. Shippo turned a little pink and looked mortified. Miroku’s gape turned into an appreciative smirk. And Inuyasha-

“Holy mother of… y-you… wh-what… _ put some damn clothes on! _ ” he finally shouted, slapping his hands to his eyes.

“Kagome’s not going to change  _ her _ outfit just because  _ you _ can’t handle your hormones,” scoffed Sango. “But based on the reactions, mission accomplished.”

Kagome made sure to grab a jacket on her way out, and needed to pace a few times before she got the hang of walking in the ridiculously uncomfortable heels. This time, they left in Sango’s father’s, midnight blue car, not wanting any Spider to recognize Miroku’s.

The ride was quiet, filled with tension and anticipation. Darkness had draped over the sky, leaving only the moon and stars to brighten their horizon. Inuyasha was silent beside her on the way, staring down at his clawed fists. 

Kagome elbowed him slightly, and said, trying to keep her voice level, “You okay?”

A pause. Then he nodded. And that was all.

First, the Inugami made a stop at the police station, where there was only a single police car in the lot; Sesshomaru’s.

Pulling the jacket around her more tightly, Kagome examined the red brick building. There were bars on the tall windows, and graffiti that hadn’t fully been wiped off; they must be far too busy and budget-tight to do so.

Inuyasha lifted his nose to the air. “The Wolves are already here. Let’s go.”

The station was a ghost town, the remaining half of the officers all on duty. Only Sesshomaru remained, standing impassively in the briefing room next to the office.

Koga,  Ginta, and Hakkaku took over chairs in the front row. Once the Inugami entered the room, the three of them rose up. “Hey there, Kagome,” purred Koga, looking her up and down. “The wolf scent and colors are marvelous on you.” He then scowled at Inuyasha’s wolf bandana, and Inuyasha scowled right back.

Kagome fiddled with the blue and silver bands around her upper arms with a fake laugh. “Um, thanks.”

“Enough,” Inuyasha snapped, walking up behind her. “We’re not here to flirt.”

“Maybe you should try saying that again when your arm  _ isn’t _ around Kagome’s waist,” suggested Miroku, throwing himself down in the nearest seat. He was in a dark blue, button down shirt, sleeves rolled up and top unbuttoned. His black jeans and thick, leather cuffs about his wrists, he was giving off a classy “devil may care” vibe that would surely fit in at the club.

Before Inuyasha could retort, Sesshomaru spoke up. “I have earpieces for each of you. Inuyasha, kitsune, and wolves, I have specialized ones for your ears. They should not be noticeable. Collect one and test them. Higurashi-san, I have an extra microphone to hide somewhere to better record whoever you speak to.”

Kagome took a small speaker the size of a bead out and placed it in her ear, the way she’d seen in movies. Then, she took the little microphone and turned away from the others, managing to get it under the top of her dress. “Sesshomaru-sama, isn’t it illegal to be helping us and giving us police property to use?”

The demon raised his eyebrows, as if he didn’t understand why she was asking. “Yes.”

Shippo whispered to Inuyasha behind her, “I can’t figure out if your brother is Chaotic Good, True Neutral, or Neutral Evil.”

“You’re a fucking nerd,” Inuyasha whispered back.

Shippo smirked. “So you do know what I’m referencing, huh? How am I more of a nerd than you?”

“...I say Neutral Evil.”

Each of them tested their earpieces successfully, after which the commander said, “I will be patrolling the general city area with my car.”

“Why won’t you be coming in with us, uh, Commander, sir?” Ginta asked, twiddling his thumbs together.

Sesshomaru regarded the Wolf cooly. “If I were to enter, every Spider in the club that knows the meaning of the word ‘fear’ would immediately evacuate. I doubt that would be beneficial to this plan.” He turned back to the rest of them. “As far as the patrols for the rest of you of this operation, I am… placing… Inuyasha... in charge, since I won’t be seeing what’s happening. You are to listen to where he says to go and what to do, as he will closely be observing the undercover work. I have a contact that’s an employee in the club; he will insure that you don’t get in trouble with anyone if you need to go upstairs or behind the bar.”

Kagome was rather in shock that he was acknowledging Inuyasha’s existence at all, much less making him in charge of a crucial mission; after the unspeakable “Came home to find wall blown up and little brother having a pizza party” incident last week, Sesshomaru had been a bit… cross. Like “turning into a gigantic, white, snarling, fluffy dog and sending the Inugami screaming from the building” cross. But Naraku was apparently important enough to shake off the grudge.

“I have to listen to  _ muttface? _ ” Koga snarled, but a single sharp look from Sesshomaru silenced him. 

Sesshomaru did reason afterwards, “I do not know the demon slayer girl or the fox demon well, the monk will be too easily distracted by wayward women, Higurashi-san will be busy undercover, and I do not  _ trust _ Wolves. We are simply using you as extra eyes and ears because I am low on officers.”

Koga narrowed his eyes. “Look, pal, I don’t have a problem with you. Never did. Unless you insult my pack.”

The commander seemed unfazed. “I have no reason to trust you. In fact… this one,” Sesshomaru gestured to Hakkaku, “was arrested three days ago for robbing a gas station at gunpoint all to steal a single box of Pop Tarts. Speaking of which, why are you not still in the jail cells?”

The rest of them stared.

“What?” Hakkaku said, shrugging. “I wasn’t gonna  _ hurt _ the cashier dude. He wouldn’t let me leave until I pointed the gun at him. I was just cravin’ some Pop Tarts, and then I broke the cell I was in. I kinda thought that the point of jail was staying there until you were smart enough to figure out how to get out.”

Koga slapped a hand to his forehead. “You idiot--if you wanted some Pop Tarts, would it kill ya to dish out five bucks? We talked about this; if we wanna stay here, we have to follow their rules!”

“But if I want a box of Pop Tarts, they-they’re sittin’ right there! Why can’t I just take ‘em? And I left all but one box! Only took my share!”

“Because we live in a capitalist country, Hakkaku,” Ginta explained. “Not a primitive communism or feudalism that we had in Japan. Here, you have to pay because your share is determined by how hard you work to earn money to earn your share; there are so many more people in the collective to provide for. Koga used to keep track of how much we helped out and our achievements to make sure we deserved a share, but since there are so many people in the country, money is the way to prove that you did your share of work because they can’t keep track of all of us like Koga did.”

“Oh, okay. Well why didn’t you just say  _ that _ , boss?”

“Oh, for the love of…” Koga pinched the bridge of his nose. “We  _ will _ talk about this later.”

“In  _ any case _ ,” Sesshomaru intoned, “Inuyasha, you will  _ not _ act impulsively and let your emotions get the best of you. You _ will _ order them with a cool head and determine what is best for the mission rather than your own desires.” His eyes flicked to Kagome, and then back to the disgruntled hanyo. “Is this understood?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Inuyasha muttered back. Kagome waited for Inuyasha to start a fight or gloat, but he remained quiet.

“I will be listening to all of it.” Sesshomaru tapped his own, elfish ear. “So no unnecessary chatter. It’s not the kind of earpiece you touch to communicate with; it is active the entire time you have it in. I will turn all of them on as soon as you all reach the club, and then I shall not turn them back off.”

The group agreed, and they filed out of the briefing room. Kagome followed after Sango until-

“Wait a moment, Higurashi-san.”

Surprised, Kagome turned to face Sesshomaru. “What is it, Sesshomaru-sama?”

He took something that was clipped to his belt, and held it out to her. Kagome took it; it was a clip filled to the top with bullets. 

She swallowed. “Um, what am I supposed to do with this?”

“It is for Tessaiga,” explained Sesshomaru. “I assume Inuyasha showed you its transformation?”

“Yes… he said he figured bullets wouldn’t work in it because it’s not really a sword.”

He gave a dull stare. “He only said that because he’s an idiot. Transformation does not change weapon usefulness.”

Narrowing her eyes, Kagome pointed out, “Well, his jacket tore when he was stabbed, and yet in fire rat form, it protects from all that.”

“Naraku outfits a few of his underlings with weapons that are modified to rip through Inuyasha’s jacket, and he would do it for all of them if the weapons weren't so hard to come by,” Sesshomaru dismissed, unclipping his keys from his belt. “Naraku has been dealing with Inuyasha for a long time. In any case, keep that in case my stupid brother needs to use the gun form and has no ammunition. And make sure that when he’s fighting, he does not drop it.”

She gripped the magazine. “Sure… I mean, that’s kind of an obvious thing to make sure of…”

“It is essential.” He made his way to the door. “Tessaiga was made as his inheritance for a reason. Its sheath is made from a special kind of tree; our father had it crafted so that when Inuyasha was in fear for his life, he would not resort to demon form in which his soul would be lost.”

“Whoa, wait, what?” she questioned, running after Sesshomaru to face him. “Demon form? Losing his soul? What are you talking about?”

He frowned down at her disapprovingly. “I should have expected that he would not tell you. Very well; since he is half demon, he has the New Moon, where he transforms into a human once a month. But for this same reason, if he feels his life is in danger, he will transform into demon form. The form makes him a vicious beast that lusts for blood. If he enters this form too often, his soul will be lost. Only the sheath of Tessaiga can subdue that monster. He must keep Tessaiga against his body the entirety of the time he’s fighting Naraku, or the lives of even his allies will be in danger.”

Kagome’s mouth had dropped open. “But… but Inuyasha is gentle and kind! He’d never hurt any of his friends-”

“His transformation is a demon, not Inuyasha.” Sesshomaru pushed open the door to the outside and strode through. “I leave Inuyasha and the demon within him in your hands.”

As soon as Kagome got into the car with Inuyasha, Shippo, Miroku, and Sango, who was driving, she stashed the magazine under her seat. There was nowhere to hide it in this dress, and if Sesshomaru gave it to her instead of Inuyasha, it was doubtful that Inuyasha would use it. 

She stared straight ahead for most of the ride, thoughts and memories brewing like storm clouds. Inuyasha doing work for her when she was tired, Inuyasha watching anime on the couch with her, Inuyasha laughing as he danced with her around the kitchen…

That man, that kind, wonderful man becoming a demon was unthinkable.

At first, she’d felt a spark of anger that he hadn’t told her, but then, as she’d gotten used to doing with him, had held back and thought. Kagome realized that if she were him, she wouldn’t have said anything either. It didn’t mean he didn’t trust her; he probably just didn’t want to bring up such memories.

Of course, he could be worried that she’d see him as a monster.

Kagome looked up at his face, hard and concentrated beside her. The brown hair and green eyes were enough to lose suspicion of the enemy, but Kagome managed to see her Inuyasha underneath. She traced her gaze down his face; from his high cheeks, sloped nose, set mouth. Somehow, she’d have to later make him understand that she loved  _ all _ of him: the demon, the human, the half demon. 

Her eyes fell back to his mouth, and a familiar heat filled her cheeks. They hadn’t talked about the incident in the Den--no time. And right after everything he said while on the morphine… Kagome had no idea what do think. Did he really… get over Kikyo? Did he kiss her because he was being petty about Koga being her first, or did he actually want to? It sure had felt like he’d wanted to. He’d grabbed her and kissed her like he was a soldier and she was his wife that hadn’t seen in five years. Kagome wasn’t going to lie; she knew she’d be daydreaming about it for a looooong time...

Finally, Inuyasha snapped his head towards her, “ _ What?! _ Sure means somethin’ if you can give a half demon the creeps by starin’ at him.”

“S-sorry,” she relented quickly, looking back to the front.

Shooting her a last, weird look, he spoke up, “Shippo, I’m leading the mission, but I want you walking everyone through your plan; you know it best. I’ll handle anything that comes up and making sure people are guarding right, and I’ll change the plan if need be. You’ll be up on the upper level with me while the wolves patrol the dance floor and outside. Got it?”

Shippo puffed out his chest. “You got it. I won’t let ya down.”

Kagome smiled at him. Sesshomaru had gotten him a fake ID so that Shippo could get in, and he was looking quite handsome for a freshman in his light blue shirt, brown, leather jacket, and jeans.

“Sango,” Inuyasha said next, “I don’t want you rotating with the rest of us. I want you to stick to Kagome, act like you came together and help her find a human male to get info from. When she goes to talk to him, you can follow behind.”

She gave a nod. “Sounds good.”

“And me, Inuyasha?” Miroku piped up.

Inuyasha’s eyes narrowed. “You are not gonna be on the dance floor, pervert. Sesshomaru’s contact in the club is the bartender; he’s gonna take you back there where you can watch and be of some use to the place. Besides, Kagome’s likely gonna take this human to the bar to talk.”

“The sweet torture you all like to put me through, being separated from my Sango,” Miroku sighed.

“This is a drug bust operation, not a night out!” Inuyasha growled.

Rolling his eyes at them in the rearview mirror, Miroku reached up and took down his ponytail. Kagome hadn’t even noticed, since she saw Miroku nearly every day, but his hair had grown much longer. Some guys, Kagome concluded, could pull off shoulder-length hair down like that, and Miroku was one of them. His dark blue eyes sparkled, and he pushed some layered, black hair back. “I think this is as far as I go with disguises.”

Sango glanced at him, and they all let out shouts and screams as she accidentally jerked the wheel and dipped into the other line. But she soon righted the car, flushing. “S-sorry. Um, yes, that’s… that’s fine, Miroku.”

Kagome couldn’t help but think that since Miroku was going to pretend to be a bartender for the mission, Sango was about to have a lot of competition.

Once they found a place to park, Inuyasha sent them out in groups. “Miroku first, then Sango and Kagome. Shippo, you’ll go with me. Increments of time in between. We can’t look like we came together.”

Miroku left, sticking his hands in his pockets and humming lightly as he walked to the club, the streetlights shining off his shoulders. With a last try at a smile to the boys, Kagome breathed out and stepped out of the car. Sango came around the side to meet her.

Sango squeezed her hand. “I’ll be by you the whole time.”

And there was the sound of a car door closing. Inuyasha stepped out, and though he was disguised, his blazing look was only too familiar. “We’re all watching over you, Kagome. It’ll be okay.”

Finally, a real smile slipped onto her face. “Thank you, guys. Okay. Let’s do this.”

Sango and Kagome walked around to the front, and Kagome tried to convince herself that this was just a girls night out, that she had no reason to be internally screaming and sweating too much in a dress that was not warm whatsoever.

After waiting in line, they managed to get through the door with limited time but unlimited leers. Kagome tried to ignore the eyes on her as she scanned the floor. Across the way was the bar, where Miroku was leaning over the counter toward some girls that were asking for a drink. He smiled, and with his hair down and in the neon glow of the bar, he looked much like an enchanter. Kagome raised her eyebrows. “Maybe he should get a job bartending,” Kagome suggested. “Imagine how good his tips would be.”

But when she looked back at Sango, she was practically hissing. “They’re all over him. If only he’d put his damn hair back up…”

Kagome couldn’t help but smirk at that. “He’s just doing it for the money. Hmm, you like his hair down, Sango?”

“Shut up and get on the dance floor.”

Once they’d made it closer to the DJ and survived squeezing through the moving crowd, Kagome heard Sesshomaru’s voice crackle to life in her ear.

_ “Turning you on all on the same frequency. Check in if you are in starting position. Over.” _

“Sango and I are in place,” Kagome spoke up, hoping they could be heard in this mess, but luckily, she could hear him clearly.

“Sango here. That was Kagome,” Sango confirmed. 

“ _ Miroku successfully in place at the bar,”  _ chipped in his cheerful voice.  _ “You know, the head monk always had me make him drinks. I mean, lots of these are non-alcoholic, but I could get used to this job. And all these beautiful women are coming to  _ me _.” _

Sango cleared her throat.

_ “Not that I’d be interested romantically or sexually in any women other than my lovely Sango,”  _ he amended quickly.

_ “I  _ asked _ ,” _ drawled Sesshomaru’s rather exasperated voice,  _ “for you to say your names if you were in place. I did not ask for an update on your thought process that I would rather not know.” _

_ “My pack is in place,” _ came Koga’s voice, satisfied and confident. “ _ As am I, circling the floor.” _

_ “Ginta here,”  _ said Ginta’s voice.

_ “Hakkaku too!” _ added Hakkaku.

Finally, Inuyasha’s voice joined in, causing Kagome’s shoulders to relax. “ _ Shippo and I are in place on the second floor. Kagome, Sango, Miroku, and mangy wolves in sight.” _

_ “Shippo here!”  _ Shippo seconded.

_ “I am a block away in my car,”  _ Sesshomaru finished.  _ “Resort to use me in an emergency and once you get the information-” _

_ “-you’ll come with us right away, blah blah,”  _ interrupted Inuyasha.  _ “Yeah, we know the plan. Shippo made it. Now let’s get this over with.” _

Sesshomaru gave a sharp sigh, but didn’t say more. 

Inuyasha went on, “ _ Shippo, feel free to give some instructions to make your plan go right.” _

“ _ You got it, White Fang,”  _ Shippo said with gusto.

_ “...what.” _

_ “Well, I thought we should all have codenames.” _

_ “I will throw you off of this banister, runt.” _

Kagome sighed at how they were already fighting, but then tried to blend in with the crowd, dancing beside Sango and looking around for potential targets. There were three Spider girls in the middle of the floor, five Spiders at twelve o’clock, and two at three o’clock. 

“ _ Okay, so step one of the plan,”  _ Shippo told them,  _ “wait for a sexy song.” _

_ “You are making this sound so stupid,”  _ Inuyasha groaned.

Shippo ignored him. _ “And then draw some attention to yourself, Kagome. Sango, help her find a human Spider. Kagome, you gotta lead him on with all you’ve got. You are a female ninja, Serena the  _ kunoichi _ , sent in to seduce and gather intelligence.” _

_ “There will be no  _ seducing,” growled Inuyasha.

“ _ There Inuyasha comes, raining on our parade, _ ” Miroku mumbled. “ _ Damn, I just got tips for flipping a bottle and smiling! This job is great. _ ”

Koga added, “ _ I dunno, I’m totally fine with seducing _ .”

“ _ Shut up, you two,” _ reprimanded Inuyasha.

But Shippo’s comparison had helped. “I am a  _ kunoichi _ ,” Kagome muttered to herself. “I can do this.”

“ _ Atta girl _ ,” Shippo praised. “ _ Oh, this song! Perfect. Now  _ attention.”

“Right,” she said shakily, and did the best dancing she could, letting the music rock through her body. She pretended she was someone else, Serena, and Serena didn’t feel awkward. Serena was sexy and knew it. Sango gave a nod and thumbs up, rotating subtly to find a Spider.

_ “Damn, I just want this to be over,”  _ came Inuyasha’s gravely voice.

_ “I never want this to end,”  _ Koga moaned back. _ “You sure can move, Kagome.” _

_ “You are such a creep! _ ” Inuyasha repeated for the second time that day. “ _ This is why I didn’t want you to come! You always look at her like a piece of meat! She’s a person!” _

_ “Oh? And you weren’t staring at her and saying you wanted it to be over because it’s torture to watch her and not be with her?” _

_ “That is beside the point! _ ”

“Boys, cut it out,” Kagome hissed. “I’m trying to concentrate.” It was distracting enough always hearing Miroku asking customers for their orders and flirting for tips.

“ _ Apologies, Kagome _ ,” said Koga. “Please  _ keep concentrating.” _

_ “Don’t make me come down there, Koga,” _ Inuyasha warned. _ “Gah, I was right, the guy you said you loved can’t be that asshat.” _

“We are not discussing this right now!” Kagome whispered, strained. 

“ _ But if it’s not Koga, then who is it?”  _ continued Inuyasha, like he hadn’t heard her.  _ “Wait, it’s not Miroku or Shippo, right? Because sorry, that would be weird.” _

“Ohmygosh no!” Kagome practically shouted, pausing for a moment to shudder. “Hell no. Gross. No offense, of course, but gross.”

_ “None taken,”  _ said Shippo.

_ “Some taken,” _ Miroku admitted. “ _ I mean, if I weren’t happily in love with Sango, I’d still consider for two seconds making you the mother of my children.” _

_ “Can we please get a douchebag jar for him?”  _ Inuyasha begged. “ _ Five bucks for every douche moment?” _

Sango’s teeth clenched as she suggested, “Or we could hit him in the face with it each time he says something stupid.”

_ “Sorry, Sango! I was only trying to change the subject because Kagome didn’t want to talk about the random confession she made before,”  _ Miroku amended quickly.

“I don’t want to talk about bearing the children of a man I consider a brother, either,” Kagome said, the words sounding even worse out loud. “Let’s stick with the no chatter rule, okay, guys? Trying to be sexy is actually rather difficult.”

_ “You make it look so easy,” _ Koga noted.

_ “Back. Off,”  _ Inuyasha warned again.

Ginta finally added something. “ _ You gotta excuse the boss; Kagome’s personality reminds him of Ayame, so he just can’t help himself.” _

Koga’s response was a snap, “ _ I thought I told you never to speak of her again!” _

Cutting off Ginta’s squeak of terror and ‘sorry!’, Kagome said, eyes widening as she rose her hands to the rising tempo, “Koga? Was this Ayame a girlfriend of yours?”

His answer was gruff. “ _ It was a long time ago. No idea where she is now.” _

_ “Probably back in Japan,”  _ Hakkaku chimed in. _ “Leading the North pack. Missing you.” _

_ “You guys will never let me live that down, will you?”  _ Koga mumbled.  _ “I told you, it was too dangerous for her to be with me! Naraku could’ve decided to use her.” _

Apparently regaining his courage, Ginta added,  _ “She was the granddaughter of the Alpha of the North pack; they met when Koga saved her from some other demons. He saw her and proposed to her only an hour after under the lunar rainbow--love at first sight, they say.” _

Kagome’s inner fangirl screamed. “That is  _ so _ romantic! Koga, you broke it off to protect her? That’s tragic and romantic too… you have to go back for her after we defeat him!”

_ “There’s no way she’d want to see me, after dropping her and leaving like that,” _ Koga argued back. 

“I’m sure she’d understand if you tried to explain!” Kagome challenged, spinning around with a laugh. “If she’s anything like me, like Ginta said, she’d eventually forgive you. Especially if you were trying to put her needs before yours.”

There was radio silence, until- “ _ I’ll… think about it. _ ”

“ _ I will literally pay for your plane ticket, _ ” Inuyasha offered. “ _ First class.” _

_ “Shut up, mutt. You just want Kagome for yourself.” _

_ “No, you shut up! You liked her just because she reminded you of another girl!”  _

Koga scoffed.  _ “Oh, that’s rich, coming from you. She looks almost exactly like your ex.” _

_ “Whomp, there it is,”  _ Miroku muttered.

But Inuyasha didn’t hesitate.  _ “What? I don’t give a damn how she looks. Kagome is absolutely nothing like Kikyo.” _

Kagome felt warmth trickle down to her toes. Any doubt that he favored her because of her resemblance to another had finally been extinguished.

“ _ I am five seconds from killing every single one of you,” _ Sesshomaru droned.  _ “Or tearing my ears off.” _

_ “I vote for the latter,”  _ said Inuyasha.  _ “Kagome is having trouble finding a Spider human, so we might as well sort some things out. Like what she was saying earlier--shit, Kagome, are you into  _ Sesshomaru?!”

Kagome stopped dancing immediately and screeched into her microphone, “What the hell, Inuyasha! Your brother is a terrible person and way too old for me, and I’m talking  _ demon maturity _ years! What kind of sewer-low standards do you think I have?! I can’t believe you’d even ask me that!”

_ “Geez, calm down,” _ Inuyasha grumbled.

_ “...you do realize Sesshomaru hears all of this, right?”  _ Miroku mused.

“Right,” Kagome muttered, pushing her uncomfortably long, fake hair back and trying to get back into rhythm. “No offense, Sesshomaru-sama, but you’re a terrible person.”

_ “None taken.” _

Kagome started to feel rather guilty. “I mean, you’re not ugly, and I’m sure you’re very nice deep down, and you do care about your brother at least, and you’re good to help us, but you have some issues and character traits I really don’t find attractive-”

_ “You do not need to explain yourself to someone that doesn’t care. I’m losing precious brain cells.” _

_ “Oh stop being such a damn hardass,”  _ Inuyasha said, which Kagome thought was rather hypocritical.  _ “Acting like an uncaring rock while your briefcase is filled to the brim with adoption forms-”  _ And Inuyasha stopped himself, as if he hadn’t even realized he’d been blurting it out.

“ _ Adoption forms? _ ” Miroku repeated, interested.

“ _ In-u-ya-sha _ ,” Sesshomaru said slowly, danger dripping from his words, “ _ am I to understand that you have been looking into my private folders? One of the only things you were forbidden from doing when you moved into my flat?” _

_ “Okay, first of all, I pay half, so it’s  _ our _ flat,”  _ corrected Inuyasha.  _ “And this ‘only things’ was actually a fifty page contract you had me sign, so I couldn’t have remembered all of it. Also, your briefcase was right on the counter! The papers were right there!” _

_ “The briefcase was  _ locked _.” _

_ “Well you left a paperclip right next to it. It was obvious that you wanted me to pick it.” _

_ “Okay, but let me get this straight,” _ Shippo cut in. _ “ _ Our _ Sesshomaru-the commander with an emotional capacity of a  _ walnut _ -is trying to adopt a child?” _

_ “My personal endeavors are none of your business,”  _ quipped Sesshomaru.  _ “Any of yours.” _

_ “Girl or boy?” _ Miroku asked.  _ “Where are you getting them from? Are you getting a demon child?" _

“As fascinating as this ridiculously off-topic conversation is,” Sango said, much to Kagome’s relief, “I found a Spider boy. Can’t keep his eyes off her.”

“Where?” Kagome breathed, dancing a little closer to Sango to hear better.

“There,” Sango said, gesturing to the left.

Kagome frowned in that direction. “The cute, tan one, or the one with an undercut?”

“Cute one.”

“ _ He’s not  _ that _ cute _ ,” Inuyasha muttered.

“Oh, shut up,” Kagome snapped. “Okay, what should I do?”

“ _ Make eye contact. Dance closer. Dance with him. Touch his arms and neck and chest--that’ll do him in. Don’t be Kagome; be Serena, _ ” coached Shippo.

“I’m concerned about how much Miroku has rubbed off on you,” Kagome mumbled. “Okay, going in.”

“Good luck; he looks pretty shy, so you’ll probably be able to play him like a fiddle,” Sango assured her. “If he doesn’t have the info, then we’ll resort to someone else.”

“Oh, I’m feeling guilty about leading him on.” Kagome winced.

Sango looked exasperated. “You haven’t even done it yet! Look, maybe you’re leading him on, but by doing this, we’ll be saving him from Naraku! Don’t feel bad!”

“I guess you have a point,” she muttered.

“ _ Demon coming to dance with Kagome at five o’clock, _ ” Inuyasha barked. “ _ Intercept, Sango! _ ”

“On it!” And Sango was gone.

Kagome took a deep breath.  _ Serena the  _ kunoichi _. I can do this. _

So she approached the boy. She lowered her lids, smiled, traced her fingers from his palms to his forearms before grabbing him and pulling him closer. The boy’s eyes brightened, face flushed under the flashing lights. He really was cute; dark hair drifting over his brown, innocent eyes. 

_ I’m sorry! I’m doing this for your own good!  _ she said internally, looping her hands around his neck. His hands hesitantly took her waist. So they danced for a while, Kagome at least wanting to give the boy a little fun before she used him for information-

_ “Dammit, Kagome, are you gonna dance there all night?!” _ Inuyasha spat.  _ “We’re almost to Naraku, here, and you’re too busy tangoing with some pansy!” _

Kagome gritted her teeth, too busy to respond.

_ “Stop giving her a hard time, Inuyasha,” _ Shippo reprimanded.  _ “She’s pulling him in more by the second; the more she dances, the more likely he’ll give her what she wants. And Kagome, have some mercy on Inuyasha’s temper; he’s practically turning green right now. The shade doesn’t suit his bone structure and real eye color, let me tell you.” _

“ _ I am not jealous; I’m on a tight schedule!” _

_ “I didn’t say jealous, did I?” _

_ “You implied it!” _

Miroku broke through their argument with exasperation. “ _ Inuyasha, we know you’re jealous. Don’t even deny it. But get over yourself and focus on the mission. Do you think I like watching Sango twirl around in that gorgeous dress without me? No, but I’m doing my job. We should be helping Kagome, not yelling at her for doing what we asked her to do.” _

Inuyasha grumbled incoherently for a moment, and then she heard the sound of a miracle. Inuyasha said,  _ “Sorry, Kagome.” _

Kagome smiled, turning away from the boy for a moment to whisper, “I forgive you, Inuyasha.”

But she did want to wrap this up. So, running her fingers up the nape of the boy’s neck, she told him in his ear, “For your hands go any lower, you’ll need to buy me a drink.”

She heard a wolf whistle from the earpiece that likely came from Koga. Inuyasha just choked, _ “Shippo, gouge my ears off.” _

_ “Thought you’d never ask.” _

“ _ Shit, that was smooth, _ ” Miroku said appreciatively.  _ “Well, c’mon over Kagome. Ask me to surprise you; as one of your bestest friends, I think I can whip up something you’ll like. Nice and sweet and non-alcoholic.” _

The boy nodded quickly with a gulp and led her by the hand off the floor. 

Kagome was distracted temporarily by Miroku talking to a customer, after which he said to them, “ _ I just got prepositioned by man. Again _ .”

“ _ Was he cute? _ ” Sango mused.

_ “Eh, nice guy, but not my type. I prefer less pecs and more boob.” _

_ “That’s a very wide range of types,”  _ noted Sango.

_ “No need to be jealous, Sango. You are special to me in endless ways.” _

“Aww,” Kagome whispered as they approached the bar. “Okay, I’m here.”

The Spider boy helped Kagome into a seat, and then took the stool beside her. Much to her relief, Miroku appeared right away, giving a sparkling grin and a, “What can I do for you two?”

Flushing, the boy cleared his throat. “Um, a-anything the lady would like and a-an old fashioned for me.”

Ah--he must be 21 or over. Eh, it hardly mattered that he was too old for her. Kagome leaned on the counter, smiling right back at her friend. “Surprise me.”

“Coming right up.” Miroku snatched up some bottle with a pink substance and a funky sort of glass, rolling the bottle down his arm and tipping it into the cup before mixing in a bubbly liquid and topping it off with a candied cherry. He slid it over to Kagome.

She raised her eyebrows. “You’re very good at this.”

Miroku winked. “Just takes a bit of a magic touch, miss.”

After mixing up the drink for the boy, Miroku went a little ways away, pretending to clean out glasses. She was grateful for how he didn’t go too far.

After taking a sip of a rather fruity and carbonated drink, she smiled at the boy. “So, I never caught your name.”

“Theo,” he answered, giving a shy smile.

“Well, pleasure to meet you, Theo.” Kagome leaned towards him. “I’m Serena. I do hope Wolf girls can be your type.”

Theo nodded vigorously. “Oh, they c-can. I d-don’t mind.”

“Then again,” Kagome sighed, twirling some brown hair in her fingers, “I’m rather tired of being a Wolf. Our leader is no fun at all; hardly lets us do  _ anything _ .”

_ “Hey!” _ Koga protested in her ear, and Inuyasha snickered.

“Y-yeah,” Theo said, loosening up slightly with a laugh. “I heard Koga can be kind of a creep.”

“ _ If he wasn’t a Spider and wasn’t eyein’ up Kagome, I think I’d like this guy! _ ” Inuyasha laughed while Koga sounded greatly offended.

“You don’t know the half of it,” Kagome went on, finding a topic she could be honest on. “He’s always hitting on me and can’t take a hint. I didn’t know that when I signed up to be a Wolf, I also signed up for sexual harassment.”

“ _ And I didn’t know that when I signed up for this mission, I also signed up to be to totally ripped on,” _ grumbled Koga.

_ “Welcome to the truth, fleabag,” _ said Inuyasha with smug satisfaction. “ _ Also, Kagome said I’m a better kisser than you. Suck it.” _

If Kagome hadn’t been undercover at the moment, she would have marched right upstairs and given him a talking to he’d never forget. 

_ “What?! As if! She was just lying to you so that she wouldn’t hurt your damn feelings!”  _ Koga snarled back.

_ “She didn’t say it to me! She whispered it to Sango and they were talkin’ and gigglin’ about it later-” _

Sango to the rescue. _ “If you two do not cease this pathetic thinking-with-your-penis testosterone battle _ right this instant _ , I will break you both in places you  _ did not even know you had.”

It was silent as the grave after that.

“That sucks,” Theo said, frowning. “Is there a way to quit?”

“I’d need the protection of someone else because of the information I know,” Kagome sighed, glancing to him. “I’ve actually been thinking… The Spiders seem much more powerful lately. And they’re an enemy of the Wolves. If I could become a Spider, I’d be set.”

But Theo shifted uncomfortably. “Well, we’d get you the best protection, for sure. But you’d have to take the Shikon.”

Kagome shrugged. “Sounds like more of a perk to me. So, Theo, I’m sure you’d know how I can join. Any boy with a face and body like yours hopefully has a sharp brain to match.”

The blushing was rather endearing, and also uncharacteristic of a gang member. But there was most certainly a purple and black bandana around his head, and a spider on his bracelet. “U-um yeah. You’d have to go to Naraku’s distribution point and pledge yourself. There, he’ll give you a dose.”

“Oh, that’s nice and easy,” Kagome said, heart rate increasing. “Where can I do that?”

Theo opened his mouth to answer, but just then, a hand slammed down between them. Kagome jumped, swinging around to look at the interruptor. It was another Spider, and a demon, by the looks of it. 

Kagome gripped her glass more tightly to hide the shaking of her hands.  _ Sango, where are you? _

Theo started, looking up. “Oh, Samson. What is-?”

“Were you seriously gonna tell this woman the distribution point without making sure she was serious first?” growled the demon. The other holders of the earpieces muttered various curses. Kagome held her breath, hoping beyond hope that he couldn't smell the Inugami scent underneath the Wolf and perfume. 

Miroku slid up to the rescue. “Is there a problem over here?”

Samoson let out a growl. “ _ No _ .”

Not the least bit intimidated, Miroku raised his eyebrows. “I’d ask for you to please not make my customers uncomfortable. You’re intruding on the lady’s space.”

Shooting Miroku a withering glare, Samson grunted and removed his hand from in front of Kagome. Miroku caught her eyes for a moment, and then sidled down to wipe out more glasses just to the back of her. 

Theo winced at Samson’s glower and whispered, “O-oh, well, um, I didn’t wanna get caught carrying...she said she’d be willing-”

“Words,” Samson scoffed. “She gotta prove it.” With that, he took out a bag of powder, opened it, and shook it into her drink out of Miroku’s sight.

“Hey, Samson, just… Serena, I’m so sorry,” Theo groaned. “He can be kind of…”

But Kagome shook her head, calmly stirring the Shikon into her glass. “No worries. He’s right; it’s only fair that I prove my words.” And she drank it all.

Theo’s eyes widened, and Samson narrowed his eyes. Kagome waited, making sure it still had no effect on her… sure enough, she felt no different. Putting the glass down, Kagome let out a sigh, opening her eyes so that they became round, and straightening in her seat. “Ohh, I could get used to this.”

Slowly, Samson nodded. “Alright, you can tell her. I suppose I’ll be seeing you at the next gathering…” He leaned closer, and her heart froze in its cage. He frowned. Sniffed once. Twice… and then leaned back. “ _ Serena _ .” And he pushed his way back through the pulsing crowd. She finally breathed out; she hadn’t noticed that she’d been holding it in.

Theo said again, “Sorry about him.”

“It’s no problem,” she said breezily, making sure to keep looking bright and energized. “I already know I’ll need to get more.”

“I know what you mean,” Theo said, eyes turning more hungry. “You’ll need to keep up with those dosages, or the withdrawal is a bitch.”

“So I’ve heard,” Kagome said, mind wandering back to Inuyasha crying out in pain in a hospital bed. She grimaced. “So where can I get more?”

Frowning to one side, Theo admitted, “Well, the boss generally passes the Shikon along through others for newbies, but lately, anyone that wants to join he’s been having sent straight to the lab. It’s strange; he’s usually so paranoid about that. But we’re not complaining.” He laughed lightly. “We’re holed up in the Waldorf Astoria hotel; he lets us stay there sometimes, and you’ll want to ask access to the basement door, where he’ll give you your share and you can pledge. Obviously, you can’t tell anyone--Naraku enforces ‘snitches get stitches’ quite literally, so be careful.””

_ “Yes!” _ Shippo cheered.  _ “Plan Ask Nicely is a success!” _

_ “Nice going, Kagome and Shippo!”  _ Sango said vigorously.

“ _ Waldorf Astoria? _ ” Inuyasha repeated, aghast.  _ “The most expensive and high class hotel in Chicago? Sesshomaru, how the hell have you not found him?!” _

_ “Why in  _ hell _ , Inuyasha,” _ Sesshomaru questioned, _ “would I have thought to look there?” _

_ “He just  _ has _ to outdo my Den,”  _ Koga complained.  _ “Insult to injury…” _

“Oh, I certainly won’t tell,” Kagome said. “Stitches don’t exactly match many of my outfits.” Though she was internally dancing in celebration, Kagome acted completely casual, tilting her head. “Your crib sounds classy. My kind of place. So, how do I get access?”

“Passphrase changes every week,” revealed Theo. “This week, the doorman will ask you if it’s a nice night. You tell him,  _ exactly _ , ‘Yes, but it’s too cloudy to see the North Star.’”

“ _ Okay, Sango, time to text her, _ ” Shippo said.

“Thank you, Theo,” Kagome told him, giving her most dazzling smile. “Shall we get back to--oh, wait a moment.”

Kagome had thankfully felt her phone buzz on the thigh strap she was wearing. She took it off, which may have given him an eyeful, but at the moment, she didn’t care. “Oh no.”

“What’s wrong?”

The texts read: 

**_[i thunk i justice drink text ex]_ **

**_[miss him so mooch, Sere]_ **

**_[hat seeping him wit other grils]_ **

**_[were r u i cant do thesis want too go home]_ **

Showing Theo the screen, where she’d changed Sango’s name to “Trisha”, Kagome said, “Looks like she’s pretty wasted. I took her here to help her get over her ex, but I guess it’s not working. I should go get her home before some guy takes advantage of her…”

Theo stood, nodding. “Of course. Yeah. Shall I walk you to your car?”

“That’s sweet of you,” Kagome said, putting a hand to his chest. “But I’ll be alright. I can fit more than one canister of pepper spray in this dress, if you can believe it.”

“Hardly can,” he muttered, swallowing and forcing his eyes back up to her face. 

Kagome leant up and kissed his cheek, which she felt was well deserved on his part. “Thank you for everything; I had a great night, thanks to you.”

“A-anytime,” he promised.

“I’ll be seeing you around, Theo.”

“Later… Serena.”

She sashayed away, trying not to look like she was running.

But as soon as she burst outside, she was met with Sango, Inuyasha, and Shippo. Miroku ran out just behind her. 

“Are you okay?” Inuyasha demanded, taking her face in his hands gently. It was strange to hear his voice straight from her ear and right in front of her at once. “He didn’t try anything that I couldn't hear or see, right?”

She found a smile, and couldn’t help but pull him close in a hug. She breathed in his familiar scent--leather, wind, mist across a lakeside. “I’m fine, Inuyasha. I promise.”

“I know I was kinda difficult,” he muttered in her ear, holding her firmly back. “But you really did do amazing.”

With a laugh, Kagome backed up and gripped him by the arms just as Koga and several other Wolves walked out to meet them at the side of the parking lot. “You were all very annoying, but I would have been so much more nervous if you weren’t constantly bantering in my ear. Thank you, guys. We did it!”

“You were awesome, sis!” Ginta complimented.

“As always,” Koga supplied.

“Thanks,” she said, and gave a smile to Shippo. “You’re a little genius, you know that?”

Shippo blushed under the praise, and Inuyasha granted the kit a rare grin. “She’s right, kid. You did good.” Inuyasha looked up to Sango and Miroku, absently putting an arm around Kagome’s shoulders. “All of you. Thanks for… protecting her.”

“Always for Kagome,” Miroku promised, and Sango nodded in agreement. 

Sango looked up at Miroku fondly. “Miroku?”

“Hmm?” 

“Put your hair back up.”

“Oh? Is it bothering you that the rest of the world gets to see my full glory front and center, dear Sango?”

She elbowed him in the side, but she was smiling. 

Inuyasha paused, then barked, “What are we standing out here for? This is what I’ve been waiting for for over a hundred years! Let’s get moving!”

And then they were in the cars; Inuyasha had torn off the wig and bandana, abandoning them in the trash and plucking out his contacts before stepping into the car. His red jacket was back on as soon as he scrambled for it. 

Miroku drove, as Sango and Kagome still needed to change. In a moving car. The boys thankfully looked away while Kagome somehow managed to pull herself out of the suffocatingly tight dress and into a t-shirt, leggings, and large, warm sweatshirt with her beat up tennis shoes. Her face felt lighter after she rubbed makeup removing wipes all over until it was clean. Throwing her wig back into the trunk area, she flicked out the contacts that had started to itch in her eyes. Soon, Sango was in similar attire, sighing and slumping into a slouch with a lazy smile.

“I’m me again!” Kagome cheered, thrusting up her hands before tugging out small ponytails and combing her short hair back straight. “And Inuyasha’s back too! I missed you,” she teased, eyes finding his golden irises and wandering to his snowy hair and the cutest ears in the world.

His mouth quirked upward. “I… missed you too.”

Shippo slid down in the leather, groaning, “ _ Get married _ .”

“ _ Do not get too cocky about this lead,” _ Sesshomaru’s voice warned.  _ “That was far too easy. Like the Spider said; Naraku is usually paranoid about the lab’s location, so him releasing it to all of his members like this must mean that he no longer cares for some reason. We are all walking straight into a trap.” _

Kagome bit her lip. “Maybe he just wants us to fight him head on to get rid of us once and for all.”

“Nah, probably worse,” Inuyasha said, agreeing with his brother for once. “Who cares if we’re walking into a trap? At least we’re walking somewhere.”

_ “This ‘somewhere’ had better be closer to Naraku,”  _ Sesshomaru said darkly. _ “There is too much is riding on this tip. I’m fifteen minutes away from the hotel. I’ve called the commander of that district and all the officers he can afford are heading to meet us to surround the hotel and evacuate the guests in a manner of which Naraku won’t notice. Stay on guard.” _

_ “My pack will help hold the hotel,”  _ Koga pitched in. “ _ Ten minutes away. And when I say pack, I mean _ all of them.”

“However this goes tonight,” Inuyasha spoke to them, eyes blazing in the half moon light. “We will do whatever it takes to bring Naraku crashing down.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies!
> 
> So this was fun to write. Mostly the headset conversations, many of which were inspired by headset conversations backstage in my stage crew days. And why does Naraku live in a fancy hotel? Because he’s a pretentious lil shit, that’s why. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please Tell me what you thought!
> 
> Mizpah,  
> ~LoneStorm


End file.
